Before It's Too Late
by Jessie Brooke
Summary: When all hope is lost, Hermione goes to the Room of Requirement for answers. She gets them in the way she least expects. Now she's working against the clock to change time. Later HGTR, full summary inside.
1. The End

**Before It's Too Late**

**A/N:**This just came to me the other night, and I had to write it out. It's kind of short, I'll try to make other chapters longer. Read, review and tell me what you think, please and thank you.

**Full Summary:**  
The magical world's in total chaos, and when all hope is lost, Hermione goes to the Room of Requirements for answers andfor sanctuary. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to be transported back to the time of Tom Riddle, or into the host body of Odessa Todd. Enterred in an interscholastic dueling competition against her will, it's time for her to show her skills. Now Hermione must find a way to change the future,or doom time to repeat itself before anyone finds out she's not who they think she is- or her own heart gets in the way... before it's too late.Later TR/HG

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**Chapter 1- The End**

Hermione let out a shriek of despair. Everything was going so wrong, so horribly wrong. Dumbledore was dead, there was chaos in the magic world, and it wouldn't be long until it spread as far as the muggle world. You couldn't be sure who was friend, and who was foe. The person who had smiled at you one day could be the one muttering the incantation to cause your death the next.

And the very worst part about it was that she, Head GirlHermione Jane Granger, did not know what to do. She, who had always had the ideas, always knew where to go for help, didn't know what to do next. And no matter how much she wished it, this problem could not be solved by a simple trip to the library. No book could tell her what to do when evil was overcoming everything in the world that was good, and pure, taking away everything that you loved, and everyone that you loved.

And, though a scene of people surrounded her, they could not help her tocope . They tried to comfort her, to ease her pain and the sorrow that was slowly consuming her.

They didn't know what it was like, to feel as she did. To have a feeling of hopelessness, to feel as if anything they tried or did to save the world would fail. And the hardest part about it was that they needed her to be strong, and she knew it. For her to lose herself to her despair would only makematters worse for the cause she had once so strongly believed would prevail. She wondered though, how anything could possibly get worse.

"Hermione, did you hear what I just said?" asked Neville quietly. She nodded.

Hermione hadn't heard him, actually, but she didn't need to. All the physical proof lay in her arms. Ron's body lay in her arms, cold and dead. He and Harry had gone out on a mission with some of the others in the D.A. to hold off Lord Voldemort as he tried to penetrate Hogwarts. Hermione hadn't been allowed to go, as she was sick and in the Hospital Wing. Now Ron and many others were dead, still more were injured. And worst of all, Harry, their leader,was missing.

"W-What are our plans for rescuing Harry?" she asked, sitting up in her bed in the Hospital Wing, Ron's lifeless body still cradled in her arms. She was afraid to let him go. It was like if she let him go, then he would be lost to her forever. And with Dumbledore dead, students dying like flies, her parents caught in crossfire at Platform 9¾, Ginny slowly dying from a side effect of Riddle's memory, and now Harry missing, she didn't know who to turn to.

"We can't do anything," Neville said sadly. Hermione looked around the room, as people were being brought in on stretchers, many covered in carnage and blood. She had never seen a battle so horrible. Her eyes widened in horror, what had gone on down there? Tears started to form on her eyelashes, slowly falling down her face.

He put his hand on hers and continued, "We can't risk anymore lives. Harry will be alright. You know as well as anyone that he has a habit of getting out of risky business like this."

Hermione stared up at Neville. Ever since he had gotten a wand of his own, he had been so different. Not that the wand changed him directly, no. But now that he had a wand that had chosen him specifically, he had greatly improved with his spells and charms.

And that had given him confidence he never had before. No, she corrected herself; he had had it in him all along. He just didn't know it until he had become successful with his new wand. But she smiled at him sadly. Because, although Harry had barely scraped by before and made it, the feeling of dread at the pit of her stomach told her that this time would be different.

Hermione winced as she heard the sound of a small voice cry out for his mother. What was the world coming to? She needed to get away, far, far away from this mess. She needed a moment alone, a moment of peace so that she could think about things. S

he wished Luna was here, because although she was so loony, she always seemed to be able to reassure everyone that things would be alright. Her zany ways and crazier ideas had become sort of a comfort since the war started. But Luna had gone back home when her father had died to sort things out, and to manage the Quibble. Hermione had no idea when she would be coming back.

There was just so many things that Hermione wished she could have changed, things she needed to do… needed, she needed a place to go to… why hadn't she thought of it before? The Room of Requirements held exactly what she needed. What that was exactly, she didn't know herself. But she'd know when she was there, and that was all that mattered.

"Hermione- where are you going?" called Neville as she got out of bed and ran by. She paid his calls no heed. Darting past people as swiftly as she could, she ran with all her might. No one and nothing was going to stop her, not even the pain all over her body from her illness. She knew what she was going to do- and she had to do it.

There were just so many questions to be answered, and so little time. She hoped no one else was seeking salvation in the Room of Requirements; she hadn't any time to lose. She was a faster runner than Neville, but he had a wand, and she didn't. If he was in close enough to her, he could send a hex to stop her, and she wouldn't be able to defend herself.

Hermione climbed a flight of stairs in great haste, and then on and into another. It seemed as if they were just waiting for her to get on, as if they knew something she didn't. With all it had seen throughout the ages, Hermione had always felt that way about all of Hogwarts. And that was what intrigued her most when she learned about magic, that there were all those banks of knowledge out there just waiting for her to learn.

There was only one more flight of stairs for her to climb, but before she could get on it, it started to change, moving further and further away from the floor.

"No," she muttered, tears still flowing from her eyes. That staircase was her only chance- who knew when they next one would come? With a running jump, she threw herself onto the staircase. She let out a cry of pain upon impact, and crawled up the rest of the stairs. Lucky for Hermione, there were no trick steps on this one, and it took her directly to the seventh floor. She crawled off the stairs, and lifted herself onto her feet. With a slight limp, Hermione passed the tapestry of Barnabas the Balmy trying to teach trolls ballet and walked up to the blank wall opposite it.

'_I need… I need a way to stop all this from happening, to save everyone from this evil. I need to save my friends from this terror we're living in. I need to get back to fighting, and I need a cure for Ginny. I need this all fast. I just wish I had… I need time, a whole lot of time.' _She concentrated hard as she paced back and forth in front of the blank wall three times, when a door appeared.

A voice called out in protest, but there was no looking back for Head Girl Hermione Jane Granger. She opened the door, and walked in, leaving the madness behind her.


	2. And So it Begins

**Chapter 2- And So It Begins**

All of the sudden there was the glare of a blinding light. Hermione tried to close her eyes, but found that the light seemed to be lowering its intensity. Blurs of objects started to form, and within seconds they began to take on shapes. It seemed that she was back in her bed in the Hospital Wing. Except now it was daytime, and there was no scene of chaos, but cleanliness and peace. And there was something else different about the Hospital Wing, something that she could not place. And that scared her, as she realized that there something utterly wrong here…

Hadn't she just walked into the Room of Requirements? If so, how in the world had she gotten back here in the first place? No magic that she had ever read of had the power to do something like this, and Hermione liked to think that she was well-versed in magic by now, but she didn't have an explanation for this feat.

Hermione sat up in bed. Surprisingly, she felt perfectly well, not sick at all. She noticed that the night stand to her side was filled with candies and gifts, and alittle pink purse. She looked at them curiously; she did not remember them being there before. Hermione reached out for the purse, and unbuttoned it open. She stuck her hand inside the bag, and pulled out a hard, shiny, rectangular object. For a moment she stared at it in shock. It was a mirror, a perfectly normal mirror.

But that was not the problem. No, the problem was what she saw in the mirror. She didn't see herself, but another in her place. It was the reflection of a girl with a heart-shaped face, unlike Hermione's egg-shaped one, and tight little dark brown curls, unlike her own bushy brown hair. The whole face was different, much softer looking than Hermione's. The only thing that remained the same was her eyes. Hermione still saw her very same brown eyes.

Hermione had heard of mirrors that altered your reflection. A sort of scary little joke you might find in a crummy joke shop. '_Calm down, Hermione, it's only a trick,'_ she told herself. She put the mirror down and reached out to touch her own hair. She needed to prove to herself that it was only a very sick joke. And she was almost complete convinced that it was a joke, too. That is, she was half-convinced until she felt tight curls flatten under the pressure of her hands.

What in Merlin's name had happened to her? Her new appearance had certainly confirmed that there was something wrong. Her mind was thinking a mile a minute, one conclusion less likely then the next. She was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded and fell back on the bed. It was as if the room was spinning around her, she felt awful.

"Odie, finally you're awake," someone exclaimed as they entered the Hospital Wing. Hermione was relieved; finally someone who could explain to her what was going on. But apparently they were looking for someone called Odie. Hermione looked around the Hospital Wing, but there was no one but Hermione there.

"Odessa Todd, answer me when I speak to you!" said a bubbly little blonde. She was small, about Hermione's age, and was wearing a do-rag in her hair. Hermione wondered when the last time anyone had worn that… but no; it couldn't be, could it…?

The girl grinned and ran up to Hermione, hugging her, and stepped back as she started to babble, "Oh my gosh, are you okay? I seriously almost cried when you were just laying there, all sprawled out like that. I cannot believe that Tom Riddle actually beat you that time- I mean everyone thought that you were a sure win and…"

The girl continued to babble, but Hermione didn't hear a word. Her blood ran cold as she heard the name of Tom Riddle. Hermione remembered that it was his name on the diary back in second year that had possessed Ginny. Now she was sick, for because he possessed her he left an everlasting scar on her soul. And it seemed that the scar had opened up when he came back, the pain growing as he grew in power. It was almost the same as Harry's scar, yet totally different. Hermione remembered the countless hours she had spent in the library to crack that mystery.

But before Hermione could ask any about it, specifically why she was they way she was and why she was being referred to as "Odessa Todd" and what Tom Riddle beat her at, she was interrupted from thought once again.

"Miss Prewett, Miss Todd," said a man's voice. She turned to see two men. One was in a healer's uniform, and the other was someone who looked vaguely familiar. It was a slightly younger Dumbledore. Hermione felt like she was going to cry- she had missed Dumbledore so much!

"You," said the healer pointing to Hermione, "bed. And you," he pointed to the blonde girl, Miss Prewett, "out. You will see Miss Todd when I say she is fit to leave."

The Prewett girl waved good bye, and hurriedly walked out the door. From the minute and a half that Hermione had known the girl, she seemed to like to do everything in a hurry.

Hermione turned back again to the healer and her former headmaster. Well, if she was in the past, then technically he wasn't her former headmaster. But in her past, specifically, he was. Wasn't he? Hermione decided to end that trail of thought; it was getting to confusing for her to follow.

"So, Miss Todd, let's have a look at that wrist of yours," said the Healer. Wrist, which wrist did he want? He expected her to know, didn't he? Hermione held out her right arm.

"Come now, Miss Todd, no time for games. You know that I meant the other wrist," said the Healer impatiently. Hermione flushed and switched arms. She noticed that Dumbledore was now eyeing her with suspicion.

The healer felt for the bones in her wrist, and turned her hand at different angles. Obviously she- no Odessa Todd, had injured it somehow. And that was why she- no Odessa, was here. Hermione was here for totally different reasons, ones that she wasn't very sure of herself.

"Well, everything seems to be in order. Albus, your young duelist seems to be back in perfect health once more," confirmed the healer.

"Good, good," Dumbledore nodded, "Now, if you wouldn't mind, Adam, I would like to have a word with my student."

"Oh yes, of course," the Healer nodded, just standing there.

"Alone," added Dumbledore. The healer's face flushed, and he exited the room.

Hermione suddenly felt very nervous- what was she going to say to Dumbledore? Would he even believe her?

When the healer was most definitely out of hearing range, Hermione spoke, "Headmaster- no, that isn't right, Professor Dumbledore, I have something really, really important to tell you and I-" he stopped her. Hermione's face brightened up- did he know already?

"Never fear, Miss Todd, I understand. We all must lose sometimes, it is losing that makes us stronger, it helps us to improve upon ourselves," this time Hermione found herself interrupting Dumbledore.

"It's, it's not that, Professor it's… it's something different," she found her voice trailing off. She mentally berated herself; she had some time to tell Dumbledore what was going on, so that maybe he would help her. But now she was about to cry instead.

"Is there something you would like to tell me, Miss Todd?" Dumbledore popped the age old question he had asked so many. Hermione looked up at him, wiped a tear from her eye and began.

"I went to the Room of Requirements last night, sir, only that it took place after now. I was afraid, very afraid, and rueful, and altogether hopeless. And somehow, the Room decided to send me here… the point is, sir, you're not talking to Odessa Todd. My name is Hermione Granger, and I," she struggled with the next few words, "I'm from the future."

Dumbledore's facial expression was filled of suspicion, surprise, and worst of all, disbelief. What if he didn't believe her- she had counted on him believing her. Who was there to turn to if not Dumbledore?

"You, you are not Miss Todd;" he concluded slowly, "The Room of Requirements is more peculiar and mysterious than it appears. It has strange ways of knowing exactly what we need. For some reason or another, it saw fit to bring you back to mid-September of 1943. One cannot be sure, but once you fulfill whatever it is you required to do, I'm sure you will return back to where you came from. Now you best be off, I'm sure Luci Prewett must be waiting."

Hermione nodded, and started to walk off. Then she remembered the purse and candies and things that were left on the night stand. She stuffed them all in a tote bag leaning against the bed and was on her way.

"One more thing, Miss… Granger," called Dumbledore. Hermione turned around to look at him, and he started to talk again, "You are obviously in this time for a reason but, I warn you; time is a delicate thing. Do what you must, but other than that, you must be discreet. Even the smallest of choices can have the greatest of effects on the future."

"I, I will try, sir," Hermione nodded. But that was a promise she just couldn't keep.

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**Jessi Brooke:** Hello folks! This was a weird chapter, I dunno if I liked it or not. This is the most reviews I've gotten off the first chapter before, and life is pretty good, so I'll shut up now and thank the people who matter most, the reviewers! 

**FredandGeorgeWeasleyareMYKings:** Thanks. Hmm, now that I think of it, I wonder why I killed off Ron, now that I think of it, probably because I would go a little nutty like Hermione if he died. Don't kill him JKR!

**sexy-jess:** Thank you!

**seerofsorrow:** Thank you, this chapter kind of gave you more info, sort of... okay, not really so much, but this was more of a setup chapter.

**The singing Sky:** Hola chica! Get well soon! Thanks for the review, btw.

**justareader:** Thank you, I could tell you what happens next but then... well it wouldn't be too pretty- just kidding;) .


	3. Of Gossip, Duel, and Food

**Chapter Three- Of Gossip, Duel and Food**

If Hermione had thought learning about the life of Odesssa Todd would be hard, she had thought wrong. As Headmaster- no she had to get it straight, Professor Dumbledore had predicted, the blonde and perky Prewett girl was waiting just outside the Hospital Wing. And as soon as Hermione had exited the Hospital Wing, she went into a full-blast rant, not allowing Hermione to say one word.

Before Hermione and the Prewett girl had gone even half way to Gryffindor tower, Hermione had learned that a) The girl's first name was Lucinda, but only her mum called her that, most people called her Luci b) Odessa Todd was on the Gryffindor dueling team c) Odessa wanted to be an Auror simply because she liked dueling d) Odessa was the best duelist of Gryffindor, and Riddle of Slytherin, and finally e) Franny Johnson had broken up with Gabe Andrews last night, and now Lisa Wells was after him. Hermione took all of this information to heart, except the last, which she could care less about. Then Hermione realized that although she might not care, Odessa might, and Hermione devoted it to memory.

All while this was happening, Hermione was dealing with another conflict- her hair. How did anyone stand up straight, let alone walk, with so many curls of hair weighing you down? Every few minutes she found herself adjusting the long tendrils of hair that reached down to the small of her back, trying to find a way that they wouldn't pull down on her head so much.

"Odie? Odie are you even listening to me anymore?" she asked, thoroughly annoyed.

"I was just thinking," shrugged Hermione, "My hair is getting kind of long. Do you think I should cut it?"

Luci took a step back to observe Hermione (or would it be more correct to say Odessa?). This was partly to take in the full of affect of what cutting her hair would be, partly because though Odessa was only average height, Luci was fairly short, at least a head shorter than Odessa. Luci bit her lip in concentration, as if what she said would be of the utmost importance. Hermione never understood why people cared about such superficial things. She merely wanted to cut the hair because it annoyed her.

"Well," she said slowly, "A few inches below the shoulders would be absolutely, and totally perfect! Oh my gosh, I'll cut it for you! You'll look fabulous for that dueling competiony thinger-mabobber- what's it called again?"

"What?" Hermione asked stupidly.

"You know, where all those European schools are sending over some of their kids for a dueling competition next month? The stupid excuse to get them out of crossfire from the muggle and the magic war going on? You've been talking about it for ages! Are you sure you're completely okay?" she asked, eyeing Hermione suspiciously. Truly she was tired of people looking at her like that, and she just wanted to take a nap.

"I'm fine. Just tired, I suppose," Hermione shrugged it off. And then it went back to the original scene of a babbling Luci and a tired Hermione listening silently.

They reached the Gryffindor Common Room (the password was Paracelcus) and Hermone entered happily. Over the past fifty years there had not been much change. The only thing that was different was the faces.

A hush came over the common room, as they watched Odessa Todd come back into the common room. Some looked disappointed in her, others happy to see her back. This was the thing that Hermione hated most about organized sports. People's emotions seem to be based on the game, and people hated the people who didn't root for their team. The whole thing was stupid, in Hermione's opinion.

"Honestly, don't you people have anything better to do?" she muttered to herself. She went up to the sixth year's girls' dormitory. She flopped onto the first bed in the room and fell asleep.

An hour later, she woke up and had to remind herself not where she was, but when she was, and who she was. Stretching her arms above her head, she found them longer than they used to be. It still felt weird, to be in this brand new body.

Hermione found that after all that, she was really, really hungry. She walked back down to the Great Hall feeling more refreshed than before. In a sea of faces she did not know, she was finally able to pick out Luci with a group of friends at Gryffindor Table near the front of the Great Hall.

Even though it was crowded, Hermione found no trouble getting to them. It was as if people were purposely making a path for her to Luci. Which, now that she thought of it, they probably were.

Luci was sitting with two boys who sat across from her. There was one strong looking boy with light eyes and dirty blond hair, and a lanky boy with a mass of black curls on his head. Some small, odd little voice in the back of her head told her that these were Gabe and Fritz respectively. From what she had learned from Luci's babble, Gabe and his cousin Fritz were good friends of Odessa and Luci, Gabe lived for Quidditch, and Fritz was a clown.

"So Sleeping Beauty finally arose from her slumber," joked Fritz. Hermione rolled her eyes as she sat down next to Luci, across from Fritz.

"Pity too," said Gabe, piling mashed potatoes onto his plate, "I was looking forward to a night without you." Hermione rolled her eyes again. Honestly, these two were more impossible then Harry and Ron ever were. She tried to push the thought of them out of her mind; it was just too painful to think about.

"Attention, attention everyone," a loud voice came from the Head Table. Hermione turned to see that the large voice came from a very small, tubby, balding little man. He had a mustache that reminded her of Mr. Monopoly.

The small man continued, "As you all well know by now, we at Hogwarts are hosting a dueling tournament this year. Representing each Durmstrang Institute, Beauxbatons Academy, Magicus Hall, and our own Hogwarts School will be eight of their best duelists. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, we will read the list of the eight students to be representing our school. I would like to let you know that the staff and I agree that each and everyone of you is a capable duelist," at this point, Fritz called out 'Speak for yourself,' getting some quite chuckles from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, "and that this was a very hard decision. May I ask that when I call your names you proceed to the front of the Hall? So to begin, from Ravenclaw we have William Clearwater, and Filius Flitwick."

With a hint of surprise in her eye, Hermione joined in the applause. William Clearwater had colorings similar to his granddaughter, Penelope, as well as the same almost-arrogant air. But the biggerof all was Professor- Filius Flitwick, her future Charms teacher here at Hogwarts. Sure she had heard that the small man was a Dueling champion when he was in his thirties, but top eight in all of Hogwarts was quite impressive. Hermione clapped with everyone for the lone Hufflepuff representative. Then the tubby old man announced that Gryffindor was next. Hermione found herself to be more apprehensive than she thought. She truly and sincerely hoped she didn't get in, because then…

"Andrew Potter," called out the man. Fritz stood up, annoyed, and yelled, "Fritz, my name is Fritz!"

"Now, now," scolded the man, "It's not proper to be called by your middle name. You have a very good first name, after all." Fritz started muttering, but walked up to the front anyway, joining the four others. People were laughing and cheering as he went along. He was given much attention. And that's what Hermione didn't want, attention. Because then if she were to slip up, everyone would know, and everyone would be suspicious. It was already hard enough trying to know what to do as it was, but with more pressure, she didn't think she could handle it.

"…and Odessa Todd," called the man. Hermione considerably paled, and for a moment she seriously thought her heart stopped beating. Could things possibly be going any worse? Here she was, fifty years in the past, pretending to be a person she knew nothing about, looking for answers to questions she didn't even know, a person who came from a future of war and chaos, who now had to enter a dueling tournament. And if she showed one sign of contempt, people would start to get suspicious of her. She gave a weak smile and stood up.

Hermione didn't remember how she got to the front of the room. All she knew was that she somehow managed the walk from her seat to the front somehow, without fainting or falling or breaking down or anything. She though that in itself was an accomplishment.

"Alright there, Odie?" whispered Fritz. Who was he talking to? Oh yes… that was her.

"Fine," she nodded back, still displaying her weak smile. Looking around the room, she saw that everyone was fooled, or at least did not care that she might have been acting oddly. All but one. A Slytherin with a stately manner looked at her a bit more suspiciously than he had intended to let on. Their eyes met, and all of the sudden Hermione felt a very sudden and strange feeling. Her pulse was rushing, and her head was reeling, her hands were shaking. What was it called again? Oh yes, she remembered it now. Loathing. Pure, unadulterated loathing and rage at this boy. Any weakness she had gotten from hearing her named called was replaced by adrenaline from the total hatred and rage she felt for this boy. And from the glare she received from him, she assumed that this was a mutual feeling.

So you could easily understand that she was hardly surprised when the tubby man (she assumed he was the headmaster, only, she couldn't remember his name) called the name "Tom Riddle" and the boy got up and strode forward. Few people clapped, even from his own house mates. Handsome as he may be, Tom Riddle was a recluse through and through.

And a few seconds later, Tom Riddle was standing right next to her. This only filled her with more detestation then before. Here she was, standing right next to a future mass murderer and evil mastermind. Probably the cruelest person of her time. Heck, he was already a murderer in this time period, wasn't he? He should be a sixth year now, meaning that last year he had opened the Chamber of Secrets and killed Moaning Myrtle. It sent a shiver down her spine, to completely realize who this was standing next to her, a blank stare on his face. And no one but her knew it. Not even Dumbledore knew what Tom Riddle was truly and completely capable of.

"This is Fritz to Odie, Odie, are you with us?" said Fritz, waving a hand frantically in front of her face. Hermione blinked, coming back to reality. She saw that most of the students selected had already dissipated and gone back to their seats. Hermione's bookish old self kicked in- what if she had missed something important? She supposed she could ask Luci, she seemed to know everything about everyone. But Hermione had a strong feeling Luci would not care to remember information like this.

"How many times must I tell you I'm fine?" she stated more than asked, her voice hinting at annoyance.

"That's my girl," he grinned as they walked back to their seats, "Always ready to kick some Slytherin-"

"Congratulations!" Luci cut in, giving Hermione a hug, "We'll go on a shopping spree next Hogsmeade visit in celebration."

"I don't like shopping," Fritz whined.

"Not you," Luci rolled her eyes, "Girls only."

"You're leaving me with him? Now that is cruel and unusual punishment," said Fritz, aghast, pointing at Gabe.

"Oh, shut up," said an annoyed, Gabe took a handful mashed potatoes from the mound on his plate and threw a perfectly aimed toss at Fritz's face. Covered with mashed vegetable he wiped potato out of his eyes and stood up. Other students turned and giggled to see a sixth year with a face full of potatoes.

"My fellow Gryffindorians," he declared melodramatically, "Chicken cutlets shall be bruised, mead shall be spilt, and that funky tasting jello that looks even scarier shall explode This is a war of food, and may Merlin have mercy on my enemies, because I won't." With that sentiment, he threw a chicken wing at Gabe. His accuracy wasn't so great and it hit a fourth year girl with bright black hair. She threw grapes over in their direction, and they hit Hermione.

The war was on. She grabbed for anything on her plate and started throwing it in any direction. Food was flying and people were laughing all over Gryffindor table. Hermione heard herself laugh for the very first time since she had been in this time period. She hadn't felt so immature and carefree in ages. It didn't matter that something sticky had landed in her hair; students were casting spells to deflect food away from them, so that food was bouncing randomly, and the teachers were furious. All that mattered was that for the first time in a long time she was laughing.

She took a handful of that nasty jello Fritz had mentioned (it was gray and deformed-looking, she didn't dare taste it) and with a good, hard, well-aimed throw, it was airborne and heading for Fritz.

"Halt!" yelled Dumbledore, standing up at the High Table. Fritz turned his head in reaction, and the jello missed him. Hermione watched in horror as it kept going, and going, and going… and hit Tom Riddle in the back.

He turned around, dark eyes narrowed. Hatred and anger seemed to come easily to his elegant, pale face. Time seemed to slow down, and the Hall was buzzing loudly with silence. Hermione could not hide her guilt from her face, and gulped. Tom's face looked menacing. He muttered a spell to clean his robes, got up, and left the Hall.

But just before he left, he turned and gave one of his twisted yet charming smiles and winked at her. Hermione wasn't stupid. In fact, she liked to consider herself to be quite intelligent. She knew what that meant. She was going to be on the receiving end of Riddle's retribution, and she was going to get it bad. If it were Malfoy or someone like that, she might have been looking forward to the fight. But this was Tom Riddle, not Draco Malfoy. And that was definitely not a comforting thought.

"You know, that was a bloody amazing shot," whispered Gabe.

"Yep," nodded, Hermione.

"He's gonna get you back for that, he looked angrier and eviller than ever- and that's saying something," whispered Luci, who looked chilled by the thought.

"Definitely," Hermione said.

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**Jessi Brooke: **Well, that was a slightly lighter (and longer) and chaotic chapter. I was kind of feeling bad for Hermione, so I stuck some fun in. My computer hates me lately, and deleted half the chapter, so I had to rewrite it all last night. Damn computers... 

**FredandGeorgeWeasleyareMYKings-** Thanks!

**Tween Idol-** Gracias! (heheh, gotta be creative about this thanking people thing)

**sexy-jess-** merci! (I didn't know until now I could say thank you in three languages. you really do learn something every day...)

Oky doky, next chapter will have more Tom and his ultimate evillness. Review or I'll send you some of that funky jello... just kiddin, I'm _not _that mean.


	4. Declaration of Investigation

**Jessi Brooke:** I am SO sorry I haven't posted in forever! I have finals and tests, and I just learned I have to write a speech for my graduation, and half my class is protesting it because they don't like me, because I am not a popular conformist person, and I've been really depressed. Your reviews really meant a lot, I'm glad I've got something good going for me. I hope this chappie is good though, its far from my best, but I wanted to give you something.

Also, as you may or may not know, I started my own C2 for Tom/Hermione stories. Anyone willing to help in anyway possible (like joining the staff, or a suggestion for a better name for the C2itself) please e-mail me or add it in a review. Thanks in advance!

**FredandGeorgeWeasleyareMYKings:** Thank ya!

**readerofHP:** Glad you found what you were looking for. Keep Tom evil? This is Tom Riddle we're talking about, right? Of course he's evil, he's Tom Riddle. He's very evil, and no one shall ever pound all of the evil out of him, no matter how hard my friends may try.

**BlueCami:** Thanks for your review!

**Jess:** I like the way you think. Hehehe, Riddle is my man slave, but you may borrow him.

**JamieGirl:** Glad you like. Plots are funny, especially with the twistiness of chapter five. Hehehe, let's just say we should be wondering more about the real Odessa Todd...

**Colby:** Well, here it is.

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"You just _had _to mention the jello," Luci grumbled as she sat on the couch, "Now Riddle's mad at her. She landed in the hospital last time they dueled, and last time he wasn't even angry at her, aside from the standard Slytherin hate of Gryffindor." 

"It was last week for Merlin's sake, and he still hasn't done anything! Maybe he got preoccupied with his evil Slytherin evilness and forgot. You don't sound too confident in her, anyways" retorted Fritz as he lounged on the couch across from her. Gabe was out at Quidditch practice, leaving just the three of them.

"It's Tom Riddle we're talking about! He's not going to forget something like this, something that humiliated him in front of the entire school. And I, unlike you, am trying to look out for her best interests," Luci snapped back, folding her arms. Hermione sighed as she sat next to Luci, she and Fritz liked to fight more than Ron and Hermione once had.

"What are you, her mother?" exclaimed Fritz, "Odie's a big girl; she can take care of herself."

"That's not the point," Hermione cut in, for fear that their bickering might never end, "The point is, we need a plan of defense for when he attacks. We need to do research; put together everything we know about Riddle to find out what is the best course of action." The other two sat in astonishment for a moment. She had gone back in Hermione mode again.

"What else is there to say besides the fact that he is an evil, conniving, mean, sixth year Slytherin and did I mention he is pure evil?" blabbed Luci.

"For every action, there is an equal reaction," quoted Hermione, "What I mean is, that he has to be the way he is for a reason. Something really bad had to happen to make him so bad today."

Fritz and Luci continued to look at her funnily. Apparently Hermione wasn't acting the part of Odessa Todd very well. But at a time like this, she needed all the information she could get. She didn't know about Odessa Todd, but Hermione Granger like to get as much information as possible, as soon as possible.

"You want dirt on Riddle? A bit of a challenge, but give me a day or so to talk to some connections and I'll give you all there is to know about Riddle," Luci offered confidently.

"Finally, advantages to being friends with the school gossip," remarked Fritz.

"Andrew Fritz Potter, how dare you-" Luci started angrily, but he cut her off. Hermione wasn't even paying attention to their conversation anymore, it was pointless to try and make peace between them. Hermione had to inwardly admit that she agreed with Fritz. No one would suspect a thing if Luci asked about Tom Riddle, and she probably had all the right connections that would lead them to the truth. But then again, Luci knew about just about everyone now, why didn't she know about Tom? True, he was creepy, not very friendly with the other students, but surely someone had to know something about him.

It was right then that Gabe came running back into the common room. He looked exhausted already, his face was red and he was huffing and puffing and he leaned on the arm of Hermione's couch for support.

"Hey Gabe, what's the matter?" asked Fritz, sitting on the edge of his seat, "You usually like it when the mob of girls chase after you."

"Not, that," he said between breathes, "You, you gotta come down. You have to see this."

At this point, at least half the common room was looking at Gabe. If their Quidditch captain was running up here looking so worried, something really had to be wrong.

"What is it, Gabe?" asked Hermione worriedly. Gabe seemed like too laid back a person to get this worried over nothing.

"Can't. You. See it, yourself," was all he managed out. Everyone was looking at her expectantly. Why did it have to be her? Why did she have to be the hero- she didn't want this. More and more she was feeling what it was like to be Harry.

"Let's go," she turned to Fritz and Luci, her hand already holding her wand. She just hoped it would work for her like it would work for Odie. The wand picked the wizard, and this wand certainly did not pick her.

She followed Gabe, running down the stairs, followed by Fritz and Luci. She wondered wildly what this was all about. They had run down two flights of stairs so far, and now were running down a hall of classrooms. Her muscles were burning, hopefully they would reach their destination soon, and she didn't know if she could take anymore of this running.

"So, can someone remind me why we are running madly again?" asked Fritz as he passed Hermione and ran aside Gabe.

"Because," Gabe replied, "A couple of Slytherins were picking a fight with your sister and her little friends down the next hall."

Hermione could have sworn that time stopped for the brief moment as Fritz took in that bit of information. After a second of shock, there was a light of rage in his eyes. Hermione felt a bit intimidated by her new friend, and took a step back from the rest of the group.

Apparently, that was just about the worst thing she could have possibly done.

Out of nowhere, a hand reached out and covered her mouth, and an arm wrapped around her waist, and pulled her into a nearby classroom. She didn't need to look at his face to know who he was. The feeling of extreme loathing was all she needed to identify him. It was Riddle. Damn him.

"Ger'off ah meh," Hermione yelled, her voice muffled by his hand over his face.

"Sorry mudblood, didn't catch that," he said releasing her as the door closed behind them. He pointed his wand at the door, and muttered a curse to lock the door before turning back his attention to Hermione.

"I said get off of me, Riddle," retorted Hermione, whipping around to face him, "Now get out of my way and let me out."

Tom laughed, and that only added to her rage, "Why? So you can follow that impressionable friend of yours?"

Hermione stared back at him, confused. Impressionable? But that would mean… nah; it couldn't be- could it? But how could he have mastered something like that yet?

"Yes, Todd, it was the Imperius Curse," he said lazily to her surprised, "Didn't think I could do it, did you now? Surprises lurk behind every corner."

"Literally," muttered Hermione, "Now what do you want with me?" She tried to go to the door again, but he blocked her way.

"Expelliarmus," he said in a bored tone, and the strangest thing happened. It was as if Hermione knew exactly where and when the spell would hit. It was a strange feeling, one she could only call instinct. And, using this instinct, she stepped out of the way with ease.

"Oh, come now Todd, I don't have time for games," he said, annoyed.

"Then how about I get to keep my wand and you tell me why I'm here," she held her wand tightly and glared at him.

"And what do I get out of it?" he asked, "Either you give me your wand and I tell you why you're here, or I'll just keep you in here, wand and all, with no idea in the world as to why you are stuck in this room until you die of starvation."

Pleasant. He was making her choose between two deaths. But could he kill her really? How long before her friends would find out and break the curse, or get a teacher? Of course, he had killed Moaning Myrtle, so why not her? She laid her wand on top of a nearby desk, and he gave her a calculating look before he grabbed it away, as if he were afraid she might change her mind.

"That's just what I want to talk about, Todd. Under normal circumstances, you would never submit your wand to me. You would be just like any other foolish Gryffindor and stand there stupidly," he remarked. Hermione noticed he kept trying to look her in the eye, and the more he did that, the more it angered her. She simply could not look at him without having the irresistible urge to hex him to kingdom come. So she focused on his nose instead, trying to think up a valid excuse.

"The potions they made me take," she said quickly, "The ones I had to take because of you, they have unusual side effects."

"Do you really take me for an imbecile?" he asked, annoyed, "What kind of potion changes a person's personality."

"Been studying me for the past week, Riddle?" she raised an eyebrow, "Didn't you have evil plans to plot or friends or something?" His eyes narrowed when she mentioned the word "friends". Good, she was hitting a nerve. That meant that she was getting somewhere with this conversation.

"That's not the point. The point is that you are obviously acting out of the ordinary, and I want to know why," he said in a low growl.

"Riddle, even if there was something wrong, what would ever make you think that I would want to tell you about it?" asked Hermione, folding her arms expectantly.

"Nothing, but that is of no matter. It would be much easier, and much more amusing for me, to force it out of you," he smirked at her. She hated his smirk, more than anything else that she loathed about him.

"So your just going to corner a wandless witch for your retribution, are you? Is that how you try to get back your dignity?" spat Hermione.

"We Slytherins have other means of payback that you Gryffindors can never hope to understand. Dignity and nobility hardly matter, it's getting what you want that counts. What use is it to be dignified and have nothing?" he glared at her.

She stared back at him, attempting to understand him. He really wasn't a very bad looking boy, if she didn't want to hurt him so much she might have gone so far as to say that he was handsome. But his heart had been hollowed by his hunger for power, which gave him a cold and emotionless presence. It disconcerted Hermione, Riddle was no open book, it would take a while to get him to crack.

"I'd rather die knowing it was for something I believed in, than die cowering in a corner trying to save my own neck," Hermione said

"I'd rather not die at all," he said curtly, "I'd rather be the one on the other side. The one who has the power to choose who will die and who will live."

"You'll wait forever, I think, but you won't ever get that power, no matter what spells you use, no matter how hard you try," she said in a deathly whisper. True, it was a lie, but not yet, seeing as she was in the past. And he didn't need to know anything about the future, anyway.

His eyes widened in anger at her rudeness, and he grabbed her tight wrist and pulled it high over her head. She tried not to yelp in pain, or wince or show any signs he was hurting her. She would not give him that satisfaction.

"Do not ever speak like that to me, mudblood," he growled at her. He was staring her straight in the eyes now, and Hermione was infuriated. All common sense left her now; she just wanted to hurt him so bad.

"Or what, you'll go running to your father? He can't do a thing about it, anyway," she glared at him. He threw her back, and she crashed into a desk before falling to the floor.

"What did you say?" he said in a very dangerous tone. Hermione's eyes widened. She shouldn't have said that, now he knew for sure that something was different about her. Only he was subtle enough to pick it out. Damn him again.

"I thought I asked you what you said," he kicked her hard, and she curled up in a fetal position on the floor. Her eyes closed tight as he continued to kick her even more.

The instinctive feeling came back again. This brave foreign feeling that felt extremely humiliated to be in such a position. And quite suddenly she got a plan in her mind to beat Riddle. The style of thought was so different from her own; she wondered how she could have gotten it in the first place.

"You win Riddle," she said weakly, "I said, I said that…" her voice trailed off for a second, and he was distracted by her voice, he didn't happen to realize that one of her legs had kicked out at him, and kicked him hard just below the belt. He stumbled back and fell to the ground as she quickly jumped to her feet, swiping her wand from his hand and pointed it down at him. The status quo had changed, and in Hermione's favor.

"I said that you won't ever overpower me, ever," she said with a satisfied smile, one she used to wear in school whenever she got a question right. But school, in her time in the future, had gotten a lot more solemn and serious since then.

"You're still the same old Gryffindor brute inside," he muttered, "Still the same ideals. Going to curse me, Todd? Whatever it is that's making you act different, you and I both know you wouldn't dare. It would be against all of your idiotic Gryffindor beliefs."

"You take that curse off of Gabe, and I won't do anything to you," she said behind her teeth.

"I already have," he said smoothly, "Slytherin's honor."

"Slytherins have no honor," she rolled her eyes, stating the obvious. There was a strange glint in his eye, and he gave a smirk.

"You're learning quickly," he said. His gaze was distracted for a moment, as he looked to somewhere behind her. She tried not to turn as well to see whatever it was he was staring so intently at. She didn't trust him enough to turn her back just yet.

"Well, time is of the essence," he said, and her insides began to crawl, "And I can't grace you with my company much longer. But don't fret, Todd. I'll find out what's going on with you, sooner or later. It's only a matter of time."

Chills went down her spine, she stood there in shock. He knew? How did he know? Oh Merlin's beard, this was the worst thing that could possibly happen to her. Other than dying or having her identity and the future revealed to everyone, of course. But this was still pretty bad. A part of her wanted to punch Riddle and ask him what was up as she let him slip out of the door without protest. That foreign part of her, that was Odessa Todd, the real Odessa Todd. And she wasn't sure whether she liked her presence there or not. Hermione of course, knew what she had to do. She had to go straight to Dumbledore right away. He would have to know what to do.

Out of curiosity, she turned about to see what Tom had been staring at so intently. She breathed a sigh of relief. She was safe, for now. She laughed at her paranoia as she walked out of the classroom. Once Luci was done fretting over her run in with Riddle, and Hermione was done making sure Gabe was okay, she would have to tell them she had almost had a heart attack over a simple wizard's clock.


	5. Professor Hector

_**Warning! A character not introduced until HBP is mentioned in this chapter and the next.**_**

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**Chapter Five: Professor Hector**

Hermione had been spending a lot of time in the library lately, more than normal for Odessa. First, Hermione said that it was to look up spells for the upcoming tournament, but then Fritz would ask questions when she returned. She then tried saying she was studying, but somehow it wasn't imaginable in the eyes of 1940s students of Hogwarts, which reminded her very much of Harry and Ron. So instead, she had been sneaking out at night to conduct her research.

What was she researching, you ask? Possession, of course. Because although it was by some strange workings of the Room of Requirements that she had come to be in Odessa Todd's place, Hermione thought itstill had to befundamentally possession. And she was going to learn everything she could about possession, read every last word of every last page of every last book she could get her hands on. There was a need for her to know why Odessa was chosen, and what happened to Odessa and Hermione because of it. She wanted the short-term effects, the long-term effects, the side-effects everything. She wanted to know why sometimes she was alone, and yet she felt… she felt someone else's presence. Like someone was there, even though the room was empty. And sometimes, she could have sworn she heard her thinking. Once and a while, it was even as if it were Odessa controlling, not Hermione. And so far, Odessa had not done anything to harm Hermione. In fact, when she did supply her with information, it was actually quite beneficial. And the occurrences when she felt Odessa's presence were rare, not much more than five times. But Hermione had learned in her years at war to always expect the worst and not trust anyone. And she continued that in the 1940s.

As far as not getting caught, she had been very lucky. The instincts she got from Odessa were invaluable, she always could hear when someone was coming, and knew exactly where to hide. Unfortunately, she hadn't gotten very far in her research. It seemed that most of the information on possession was in the Restricted Section, and she hadn't gotten there yet.

Her night adventures were taking its toll, she slept during her classes and sometimes got in trouble, though her friends seemed to think that was more reasonable than to stop in the library. They reminded her of Harry and Ron in their laziness. Honestly, Hermione could not understand some people, namely the people who did not understand the many uses of the library.

"Odie, Odie," someone prodded her with a the nib of a quill. She looked up and yawned- where was she again? Oh yes, Charms, she was sitting next to Fritz, who was poking her incessantly with his quill. She shot him a glare.

"I was hoping that you could demonstrate the summoning charm for us, Miss Todd?" the professor asked. She was a large woman, heavy and tall. Her hair was tied back in a long red braid, and she had a noticeably large mole in the middle of her chin. It was very hard for Hermione not to stare at, but she had learned the hard way that if Professor Hector caught you, she turned most irritable. Taking away house points seemed to be her favorite pastime as it was, so it was best not to give her an actual reason to do it.

The Gryffindor observed her surroundigs; it seemed as if Professor Hector had just been teaching the spell during Hermione's slumber, seeing as the classroom was in disarray. Hermione decided it was a very good thing that she had long perfected the spell. Well, maybe not long perfected, seeing as she wouldn't have perfected it for another five decades. Sighing, she abandoned that train of thought; she was confusing herself with the timeline again.

"Can't do it, Miss Todd?" the sadistic professor almost broke into a smile, taking Hermione's sigh for a sign of defeat.

"No, no, I can do it," Hermione nodded her head defiantly, "Anything in particular you would like me to summon, professor?" There was an underlying chorus of "oohs" from the rest of the students. No one challenged Professor Hector like that before.

"Mr. Riddle's quill, if you please," Professor Hector utteredwith a saccharine smile. They both knew very well that the target would be extremely difficult for a beginner; it was small and far away. Besides that, this was Tom Riddle's quill, and Hermione had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that he wasn't going to give up his writing utensil without some sort of a fight.

"Accio quill!" Hermione said articulately, waving her wand with confidence. There was a strange burning feeling from her wand that entered through her palm and shot up her arm and into her shoulder. She winced, but luckily for her it did not throw off the aim of her spell. And it would have probably succeeded to, if Riddle had not deflected it.

"That's not fair!" Luci cried out. It was what many in the class were thinking, but no one else was brave enough (or some may say was stupid enough) to actually say it out loud.

"I never said he could not deflect it. Ten points to Slytherin, for that beneficial demonstration," said the professor, a smirk set on her fat face, showing off the mole on her chin.

Hermione was still set on getting that spell right. She was not going to lose to Tom Riddle, no way, no how. So, while her fellow Gryffindors protested the call, she decided to try the spell silently. 'Accio quill' she thought, seeing in her mind's eye the quill coming to her.

"Protego!" Tom said at the last minutewith a new found anger that Hermione was challenging him. Nobody ever challenged him, nobody.

The Gryffindor girl let out a low grow of frustration, "Finite Incantantem," she aimed at his shield, followed by a quick "Tarantallegra!" Hermione recoiled again, the burning sensation emitting from her wand stronger than ever. But she must have caught Tom off guard, because soon Riddle had gotten out of his seat and was dancing around the room.

"Conjuctiva!" he yelled, and before Hermione knew it, her vision had become quite distorted.

"Enough!" shrieked Professor Hector, her mole pulsing angrily. Hermione tried to turn to face the professor, but her poor vision betrayed her and she bumped into her desk and fell to the ground. With a groan, she groped around for her seat and tried to pull herself back up.

"Finite Incantantem," muttered Fritz, pointing his wand at Hermione's eyes. She blinked a few times and before long her vision was back to normal. Nodding her thanks, he gave her a solemn glance that was quite uncharacteristic for him in return.

"You," Professor Hector hissed at her angrily, "Twenty points from Gryffindor. I'll be seeing you tonight at nine o'clock for detention," she turned to Tom, who had obviously been cured of his spell, as he was no longer dancing, "And you, I'm quite disappointed in you. Fifteen points from Slytherin and you too will be seeing me tonight."

"But professor!" Hermione stood up and cried out incredulously. Why should she have five more points taken away from her than Tom Riddle did?

"Would you like me to make it fifty points, Miss Todd?" threatened the professor, taking joy in tormenting her student. With an angry glare Hermione sat back down in her seat.

The rest of the day went by like a blur for Hermione. Her fellow Gryffindors tried to placate her, tell her they were on her side, but it didn't matter. She hated the special treatment Tom Riddle got from all the teachers, especially from Slughorn but aside from Dumbledore. And, it always seemed that he and his tight-knit group of Slytherin friends always got away with everything they ever wanted. It wasn't fair, and it was driving her crazy.

She couldn't even find salvation in doing homework and could barely concentrate. In fact, it was Luci who was the farthest ahead in her homework- and she stopped to chat with the other girls in the dorm every five minutes! Hermione had broken the nibs of five quills before she grimaced and gave up.

"I can't do this anymore," she took her wand to make the last broken quill disappear, "maybe I should just go to detention early to get it over with." Luci turned to Hermione from her own bed and rolled her eyes.

"Nobody goes to detention early," she said, "It's simply unheard of. We'll just talk until you have to go." Already Luci had started to put away her books, piling them all up on a corner of her bed.

"No, I think, I'll just leave now," said Hermione, getting up from her bed and heading for the door.

"Odie?" Luci asked, voice filled with concern,"Is everything alright with you? Is it a guy? Are your parents alright? Is it the duel competition? Is it-?"

"No, Luci, it's… it's nothing, alright?" Hermione didn't even look back to see the look of hurt and concern on Luci's face as she walked out of the room.

In the common room, Gabe was surrounded by the usual crowd of girls that followed him when Luci and she weren't there to keep them away, Fritz also sat with his group. It seemed like Fritz was doing most of the talking of course, Gabe never talked too much anyway. Almost passing themby unnoticed, but then Fritz balled up a piece of parchment, and threw it in Hermione's direction. The group of girls looked over in her direction almost simultaneously, eager to know what the paper said. But, without even looking at the paper, Hermione stuffed it in the pocket of her robe, and walked off.

"Alright there, Odie?" asked someone from behind her. It was Fritz, looking very concerned, an emotion that looked very strange on his face.

"Why is everyone asking me that?" she groaned, "I'm fine, really I'm fine." Hermione kept on walking, trying to get him to leave.

"No," he corrected, grabbing her by the wrist and turning her around to face him, "You're not. You've been acting strangely lately. Like today in Charms, for instance, usually you wouldn't have stopped throwing spells at Riddle until the world exploded, or Hector sent you both off to the Headmaster. And you've been spending zillions of hours in the library, when we all know that you've loathed the place since OWLs! We're your friends; you're supposed to be able to tell us everything."

Her heart began to beat faster- they finally knew that something had changed. They didn't know what, or how, but they knew for sure something was wrong, and there was no talking herself out of this one.

"Look," she began uncomfortably as sweat formed on her forehead, "I… I just can't tell you, okay? I've got a detention to go to." And before he could protest she ran off in a mad dash. He didn't follow, but then, he didn't need to. Because Hermione knew very well, and Fritz probably realized too, she could run, but she couldn't hide from this problem. When she got back from detention, Fritz and the rest would still be there, waiting for her.

While making her way to the Charms classroom, she tried to think of something- anything that she could use as an excuse. It was times like these she wished she could talk to Odessa, to know what she would do.

"You were almost late," remarked Professor Hector, her fat hands resting on her hips as she glared down at Hermione. The troubled Gryffindor gave an inward groan, there was just no winning with this professor, was there? Tom was already there, playing the act of the model student, leaning lazily on one of the desks.

"Now," began Professor Hector, with an evil glint in her eye (add that to the mole on her chin, and Hermione couldn't help but think she looked like one of the witches in muggle storybooks), "As punishment for your misbehavior, the two of you are to put away your silly inter-house rivalry and work together to decipher this riddle."

The mole on her chin pulsating sadistically, she set a roll of parchment on the desk Tom was leaning on. Walking to the door, she added, "I'll be waiting outside for you to give me the password, so magic won't help you here. It'll take logic to figure it out, something you are obviously lacking, if you choose to disrupt my class in such a manner." A very angry Hermione couldn't help but notice that the professor was looking pointedly at her, but not Tomas she left.

A moment passed while Riddle unraveled the parchement and read it. "Let's make a deal- I work these out, and you just go sit somewhere in the corner and don't bother me," an approaching Riddle offered, a moment after Professor Hector had left the room.

All in all, Hermione was more frustrated about having to deal with Riddle than the actual riddles. She could handle actual riddles, in fact she rather enjoyed breaking them. Besides, she had been able to break Snape's riddle when she was just a first year, so how hard could anything from Professor Hector be?

"What do you mean, just go sit somewhere in the corner and don't bother you? Professor Hector said that we were supposed to work out the riddles together," Hermione folded her arms, annoyed. This was turning out to be a very frustrating day in the life of Odessa Todd for Hermione Granger.

"You'll just be a hindrance to me. The sooner you let me work this out- alone, mind you- the sooner we get to leave," the Slytherin said, trying to work his infamous charm on her, "And even a mudblood like you must have something better to do than to be stuck in detention."

It felt as if her blood was on fire the moment he uttered the word 'mudblood'. That made it final, he was challenging her, and Hermione didn't know about Odessa, and frankly she didn't care right now, but she, Hermione Jane Granger, was not one to back down from a challenge. Especially one challenging herintellect.

"Well then," Hermione said with forced calmness, "We're going to be here a while, aren't we?"

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**Jessi Brooke: **Sorry to cut it there- but I was feeling particularly evil today, because the chickens on the farm I discovered in the middle of my suburban town (which makes about as much sense as attack turkeys- wait, I have seen attack turkeys… just forget that whole rant) were in their little house thing instead of being outside and clucking like usual. It makes me sad. But I read HBP (didn't everybody?) and I loved it! Of course, I was upset when the character who died, well died, but I was kind of expecting it. I especially loved the memories of Tom Riddle. Hmm, wonder why...? 

**Ink Splash**: Wow, thanks. Remus/Hermione is fun to read, because they are so alike, but they're really different, and Hermione already knows him, but doesn't know him really, and yeah I'm getting myself confused. Darn paradox. Back on topic (which is very hard for peoples with short attention spans, like me) glad you like the detail! My English teacher says I put in too much or too little detail- nice lady, frustrating teacher. Andrew Potter is Harry's grandfather and... yup, that's it.

**Jess:** Well, this wasn't really soon :Cue nervous laughter: but it was an update… thanks for the review!

**JamieGirl:** But Tommy boy's so much fun to annoy when he's evil! If he's good, then we don't have an obvious excuse to taunt him, which makes me sad. Hehe, thanks for your review.


	6. Of Headache and Heartache

**_WARNING! Mentioning of a character not introduced until HBP in the following chapter, so minor spoiler, in case you haven't read it yet._

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****Chapter Six- Of Headache and Heartache**

_The brave Love mercy, and delight to save. -John Gay  
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Impossible, simply impossible- that was what Tom Riddle was. It was impossible to Hermione that someone could be so evil, but he was, and it was impossible that one so difficult to work with would somehow gather so many allies in the future, but he would. It just defied all her sense of logic.

"Read that last one again," he commanded more than asked, leaning back in his chair. I glared at him from my seat angrily, fingering the parchment with the riddles that she had grabbed from him after the second riddle.

"He starts and ends two common English words. One painful in love, one painful in every day matter. Do you know what two words I must be?" She bit her lip, thinking hard, trying to figure out what these two words could be. It had to be a compound word, she thought, and one part of the word had to do with pain. They only had one more riddle after this, and then she was free from Tom Riddle. Of course, she still had Fritz and the rest to deal with back up in Gryffindor Tower, but anything was better than this.

"Painful in everyday matter… that would be you, but you don't end two common English words, now do you," he said, rapping his knuckles loudly on the desk. Hermione bit her tongue to keep from spitting back a retort. The only way to deal with Tom Riddle was to remain calm. Only problem with that was, Tom enjoyed manipulating other people's emotions to his advantage. And he was an expert at it, too.

"No need to pick a fight. One of these days someone's going to take it to heart and…" a look of revelation dawned on her face, and she grinned with the glee of victory. She had figured out the riddle.

"Well don't you look as pleased as a fat Cheshire cat," he raised his eyebrow, "Finally realized that you should evacuate the school immediately, and go hide in that rat hole back with your muggle family?"

"No," she shook her head smugly, "That would make _you_ happy. What is making me happy is that I just figured out the riddle before you… again."

Ignoring the fact that he had just insulted Odessa's family, and for that matter, her very own family, and all of the families of all of the muggleborns ever to attend Hogwarts, she realized something far much more pleasing. Tom Riddle had never been bested at anything before, and it didn't take a genius to realize that was something he definitely loathed. And so far, during this detention, she had figure out two riddles before he could. This was history in the making.

"Read it again," he said quietly, his eyebrows furrowed with thought, determined to decipher the answer, as if I had in some way challenged him, and we were not working together.

"I've already read it to you five times!" she said, exasperated, "And, as I've told you just before, I've figured it out already, it's-"

"I will not let myself get beaten by a mere mudblood," he said in a deathly whisper, making Hermione jump in her seat with surprise. A chill ran down her spine as she saw the look of determination and anger on his coldly handsome face, "Read it again."

But the Gryffindor in her would not oblige, could not back down and do as he said. Glaring at him, she tried as hard as she could to suppress the anger and loathing she had for him, lest it get the better of her.

"The word is ache! Heartache and headache. Heartache is painful in love, and headache is painful in everyday matter! Now, just add the words, 'headache and heartache' to the answers, so we can get on to the next riddle and be done with this!"

"You're wrong," he stood up from his chair, brushing wrinkles from his robes, "Because the heart does not ache. Love is weak, all it does is make people delusional, not cause any pain."

Hermione stood up from her own position and put her hands on her hips, she could not hold her anger in any longer, "The heart can ache! Just because you're too afraid to let yourself love anyone, doesn't mean the rest of us can't love. And sometimes, when something bad happens to someone or something that you love very much, it makes a person feel horrible inside. It's a kind of pain that stabs at your heart and spreads throughout your entire body like a disease. That's what heartache is. And you dare to say that love is weak? People have died for love, wars have started because of love, people give up their hopes and dreams for love, would do anything for love, and for the ones that they love, and you have the audacity to say that the strongest emotion of all is weak?"

He stared at her for a moment, taken aback, as she breathed heavily, glaring at him. Both of them were surprised at her outburst. For the very first time, Hermione realized how homesick she really was. Not for the war torn Hogwarts that she had left, but for the way things used to be, when she was still a student there. She was at Hogwarts now, yes, but it was not the Hogwarts she had always known and had grown to love. It was just as war torn as it had been when she left her own time, what with the rise of Grindelwald and the Second World War. Not to forget a certain teen dark lord that insisted on tormenting her.

Hermione trembled with all the emotions that ran through her veins, threatening to eat her alive. And Tom, being the Tom that he was, did just about the worst thing he could do at the moment. He kissed her on the forehead.

For a moment, it felt to Hermione as if the whole world had stopped, just stopped and frozen for that one second when his lips brushed against her forehead. All the emotions that were running through her blood stopped, her heart skipped a beat. For a moment she even forgot to breathe. She stared up at him, wide eyed with bewilderment; her mouth formed a small "o". What the heck did he go and do that for?

"I was right," he muttered coldly, almost to himself, "Nothing. Love is not as strong as you say, because I just kissed you, and felt nothing. And it is indeed, as I said a weakness, because people like you put too much confidence in it. So I was right, and you were wrong."

Hermione let out a short laugh. That heart of his was just too frozen for him to understand what he was talking about. And in a way, Hermione sort of pitied him for not being able to understand it. But mostly she was shocked and too angry at him to really give him any pity.

"Let's just get this over with," a resolute Hermione stated, "So far, we've got 'Lack of logic is the headache and heartache-"

"Of wizards," Tom finished for her, "'Lack of logic is the headache and heartache of wizards.' It's a quote from Rowena Ravenclaw; I've only just remembered it. Now we can just skip the last riddle and get on with our lives."

Hermione nodded, she would like to do that very much. Nothing in her life had been as strange as this detention had become, and she really needed to get away from Tom. Rolling up the parchment of riddles, she was halfway to the door when Tom stepped in front of him.

"And about what happened here," added Tom, "It never happened. Or else you'll wish you've never been born, mudblood."

"Why would I want to embarrass myself and tell anyone about you kissing me anyway?" Hermione muttered under her breath, pushing him out of her way.

"What did you just say to me?" he asked, and Hermione knew that she was really getting on his nerves now.

"I never said anything, because this conversation never happened, silly," she replied mockingly, and with an extremely overly sweet smile, she turned away from him and pushed the door open. Outside, her sneering teacher looked down on her, and Hermione made herself blink to keep from staring at the mole.

"So you've figured it out?" she asked cautiously, sounding almost disappointed that the two of them wouldn't be stuck in there at her mercy any longer. Sick woman.

"Lack of logic is the headache and heartache of wizards," recited Hermione innocently as Professor Hector's face fell like a child denied a piece of candy, "Lucky that both Tom and I were brought up by muggles." Walking away as quickly as possible, she did not wait to see the incredulous expression on Professor Hector's face. While she really would have liked to, the Gryffindor had a distinct feeling that if she did, it would result in another detention. And she certainly had had more than enough of those for one time period.

Making her way back to Gryffindor Tower, Hermione remembered the crumpled note in her pocket from Gabe. With a reluctant sigh, she took it from her pocket, smoothing it out so that she could read.

_**Dear Odie,**_

**_Please meet me, Fritz, and Luci up in the sixth year boys' dormitory as soon as you are out of detention with Hector and Riddle. We will make sure that no one else will be up there. We really need to talk. Remember, we're your friends- not some stinking, slimeball Slytherins! We want to help you! And Luci told me to tell you that she swears on Witch Weekly she won't tell anyone what's bothering you, no matter how juicy it is. Those are her words, mind you, I've never even read Witch Weekly.._**

_**Your very concerned friend,**_

**_Gabe_**

**_P.S. - Professor Slughorn asked me to tell you that he invites you (as well as the entire Hogwarts dueling team) for dinner and day-before-Halloween festivities. _**

**_P.P.S. – Before you rip this letter into a million shreds. I know you really hate him and his club, but it would look good if you missed it- especially if you want to get good grades in your NEWTS class with him- you know how he can be._**

Crumpling the paper back up and putting it in her pocket again, she wondered what she could possibly tell them without giving too much away. Combined with that whole episode with Riddle, Hermione was finding that those soap operas her parents hated so much were getting more and more realistic every day.

It was one of those times that Hermione just wished she could run to the library and hide her head in the book, and just forget about the world around her. Right now she didn't really care about her mission here, whatever it was, all she wanted was to go home, back to the way Hogwarts was before the war started. Back to the people and the places she loved.

Love. Now there was an interesting concept. It was probably the most powerful thing in the world, yet every dictator or would-be world conqueror seemed to lack love for there people the most. Ironic, wasn't it? In fact, people governed under kings and conquerors and dictators, or any kind of rule when only one person was in power, usually had it off pretty badly. Which made Tom a perfect candidate, because he seemed to lack love and the ability to love entirely, and seemed to enjoy the pain of others.

Hermione froze in her place. Tom couldn't ever learn to love, could he? Nah, it was impossible! It was against the laws of logic! Or, Hermione's logic anyway. For her it was inconceivable, for how could anyone force Tom Riddle to love. More importantly, who would be dense enough to love Tom Riddle back? Hermione laughed, now there was something that was never going to happen.

Lost in thought, her feet had unconsciously taken her to Gryffindor Tower so far. Now all there was to do was to go up to the sixth year boy's dormitories and have a little chat. She shuddered, that would probably be the hardest part of all.

It took all of Hermione's courage to open that door. Looking back, she wondered how she didn't just turn and run away, and find some place to hide. Hogwarts was more than a big enough castle, and very tricky. She could evade them for weeks, if she had to, or at least until she completed what she was here to do.

But she reminded herself that, this time or her time, she was a Gryffindor through and through. And Gryffindors were supposed to be brave and strong and pure of heart. They were not supposed to be afraid of the people who only wanted to be their friends. Yet here Hermione was, cowering over the thought of three mere students, not even done with their schooling, who didn't even wish to harm her.

She opened the door, and there sat three people on the floor, all wide-eyed with concern. It was just the four of them now, just as Gabe had promised. And all of them looked like they were very trustworthy, had no alternative motives. Hermione sized them up slowly, trying to make a very hard decision. They were Odie's closest friends after all, didn't they deserve to know? What if someone had randomly taken over her own body when she was a sixth year, wouldn't she want whoever that was to tell Ron and Harry? Once again, Hermione found herself reminding herself to breathe.

The small blond ran up to her and gave her a big hug, "We love you, Odie, we all love you very much. I just want to let you to know that."

Hermione stood stiffly as Luci held onto her, as if afraid to let Hermione go, she backed away and sat back down on the floor, and Hermione sat down next to her.

"During these past couple of weeks, you've been acting different, Odie," began Fritz, "You've been obeying teachers right away, you're not as rebellious as usual, you enjoy studying, and no offense to you, of course, but all of the sudden you've gotten a lot smarter. You've been different, and all together distant, you're even holding your wand in your right hand, and we all know your wand hand is your left! You usually never back down from a fight until you're injured or the person you're fighting is, yet when Hector- who you hate more than even Slughorn, mind you- tell you to stop fighting Riddle, you do. And you asked Luci to research Riddle, which was very strange, as well. The point is, we want to know why you've changed, Odie. You've got to tell us, we're your closest friends. Whatever it is, you can't hold it up inside you forever. So please, let us share the burden, no matter what, I promise that we'll understand, right you guys?"

Both Gabe and Luci nodded with extra vigor, as if the more they nodded the more Hermione would believe. Hermione gave a weak smile, as if to reassure them.

There was a pregnant silence in the room, and Hermione could feel her heart banging on her chest, as if trying to burst out and explode into a million pieces. She closed her eyes and buried the, breathing heavily, trying to figure out what she was going to do with this mess.

She looked back up at the, folding her hands in her lap. She knew now what she must do.

"Can you," she began slowly, all eyes on her, "Can you all keep an extremely important secret?"

* * *

**Jessi Brooke's Note: **comes out dodging tomatoes thrown by angry reviewers. So will she tell them the truth, or won't she? Well, I know that, but you don't. I'm so sorry I took forever to update this! I was away from technology for about two weeks, then my Great-Grandma Mary died and… well things weren't looking to cheery. But now I'm back. I've heard that they're taking down stories that answer reviews, or something odd like that, so I think this will be the last time I do that. 

**Ink Splash-** laughs, Austin Powers moment! Actually, chapter five was only four words short of chapter three, which was the second longest chapter, but I'll try to keep the chapters longer. Riddle definitely doesn't know who he's dealing with is a lot smarter than he expects. Not that the real Odessa Todd is a complete dolt… she just has her issues. Yah, I'll put up a little warning in chapter five. Thank you for your review!

**FanFictionFantom-** You've probably never visited Long Island before. Nice place, most of the people are nice, but as for the rest… well I, won't go into that. Glad to introduce you to the wonderful world of H/T!

**Sexy-jess **and **Vla1diva **and **Gcshipper-** thanks for your reviews! I'm sorry I've been so slow!

**Sarklover826-** Nah it's okay. Wait, your birthday is 8/26? Man I'm slow! That's my birthday too, awesome! Well happy belated birthday, and thanks for your review!

**ll-** Well, I guess agree he is a bit OOC, because I did start this story before HBP, and I admit I had a different picture of him then JKR, and I felt like keeping with what I have. I wouldn't necessarily say that Odie's friends know that he's evil; they just dislike him, as well as the other Slytherins, a lot. Like, for instance, saying homework is evil.

**Nathonea-** Thanks for both of your reviews. Teehee, Wicked was a very good show, wasn't it?


	7. Sharing Time

_**Quick Recap From Last Chapter:**_

_She looked back up at the, folding her hands in her lap. She knew now what she must do._

"_Can you," she began slowly, all eyes on her, "Can you all keep an extremely important secret?"_

**Chapter 7: Sharing Time**

Gabe blinked, Fritz's eyebrow's furrowed, and Luci gave an incredulous laugh, "Of course we can,"she replied,"That is after all, the point of this entire meeting."

Hermione chewed on her lip prudently. Sheonly hopedthat they would take her seriously, "I don't think you are going to believe what I am about to tell you. But it is of the utmost importance that you believe me, do not doubt me, and do not question me for anymore information than what I tell you. But first, can you swear to me on each of your lives, and for the sake of all that is good that you will never, ever tell anyone about this conversation of your own free will?"

Fritz chuckled, "Alright that's a bit melodramatic…" his voice trailed off as he noticed that Hermione's face remained solemn, showing no hint of humor whatsoever. Turning to his friends he gasped, "She is serious!"

"Do you swear?" Hermione repeated the question, resisting the urge to get up and run away. All she knew was that the sooner she got this over with the better.

"I swear," Gabe raised his right hand with a half-smile, a poor attempt to lighten the mood in the room.

"I swear too," Fritz nodded. All eyes turned to Luci, the infamous school gossip. If anyonewas a liability, it was her.

"What's everyone looking at me for?" she asked, crossing her arms crossly, "Alright, I promise not to tell."

"I'd like to see that," Fritz muttered, but Luci's keen ears heard him perfectly, and she glared at him.

"Would the old couple in the peanut gallery please shut up," growled Gabe. Fritz's jaw dropped in surprise, and Luci's eyebrows shot up so high they almost reached her hair line. Both blushed furiously and looked down at the floor in silence.

"Look, if you're not willing to be serious about this, then I really don't want to talk about it," commented Hermione, trying to keep back the frustration in her voice. It angered her that they could be joking around at a time like this.

"Oh, we'll shut it now," said Luci softly, "Go on, please."

Hermione nodded and began slowly, "Well, I guess the best way to start is to tellyou the story from the beginning. It took place, right here in Hogwarts, in a time very far from now. All around Hogwarts and the wizarding community of England was in chaos, at war with a very evil wizard, not that different from Grindelwald. He sought out to 'purify' the world of mudbloods, and to kill anyone else who stood in his way. He was good at it too.

"Fourteen years he had disappeared, was gone from the face of the earth. We thought him dead. We were wrong.

"Several of the members of the resistance were ambushed by this wizard and his followers. I was among the members of the resistance. We were lucky, the wizard was forced to retreat, but not before leaving us all wounded and the death of a good friend of mine. It was a rude awakening, but finally, the general public was in denial for longer. Now, everyone knew he was back and highly dangerous," Hermione paused as she tried to think of the right thing to say. It was strange telling the story, as if it had happened to someone else, and not her.

"The following year the evil wizard, now exposed by the resistance, no longer needed to hide. He murdered and caused havoc for wizards and muggles alike. Worst of all, the leader of the resistance was murdered. It was dark times for the resistance, but we were not completely without hope." Here Hermione paused, for thinking about Harry made her homesick again.

She closed her eyes tight as a tear threatened to fall. By now she was lost in her own little world, almost forgetting the three other occupants in the room. It felt good to tell her story, to talk of the life she had been forced to ignore for the past month. Suddenly she found herself saying more than she should have.

"He was one of my best friends, and he was only a student, a seventh year, but he was stronger than most, and braver. He had the will to kill the evil wizard, it was deep in his heart, and it was his destiny, what he was born to do. The odds weren't completely against him, as he had escaped the clutches of the evil wizard more times than any before. But he was still far weaker.

"He, another friend, and myself went all over Europe, in attempt to weaken him. We almost did it, too. However, before we could finish our work, I got deathly ill and had to return to Hogwarts. A week later there was another attack onthe school- there was just too many… and they had allies now too, all sorts of magical creatures… and the blood, so much blood… My two friends had to come back, they had loyalty to the school… and then, then one of them was dead… my best friend, dead…" tearsbegan to fall down hercheeks unnoticed as she remembered Ron's body on her lap, dead and cold. She had never really had the chance to mourn him properly, and now that she had the chance to really think about it, the sorrowalmost overwhelmed her.Almost, but not quite.

"There was nothing to do but run. I, I had to do something! And you have to understand that I never meant to… I had no idea… I only thought that it would help, I just didn't know how, I wasn't in my right mind," she stopped to catch her breath, only just realizing that she had been hyperventilating, "I went to the Room of Requirements, in hopes that it could help me to defeat the evil wizard. I opened the door and I, I woke up and here I was. Years away from my own time period, in the body of Odessa Todd, not knowing what I was supposed to do, or even how to get back."

For the first time during her speech, Hermione looked up to see the reaction of Luci, Gabe, and Fritz. There were mixed expressions of anger, surprise, and pity on their face, but it was mostly the second. Gabe tossed a worn bit of scarlet cloth at her. She realized that she must look like a mess, her face all red and puffy, tear tracts down her cheeks and all, and she smiled at him weakly.

He did not return the smile.

"You mean to say that you're some spirit from another time that's taken over Odie?" asked Fritz, almost accusingly. Hermione nodded slowly, very well aware of the dangerous glint in Fritz's eye.

"I don't believe it," declared Luci, standing up from her seat and turning to the two boys, "The whole thing is just bonkers! And if you believe this kind of story, then you're bonkers too!"

"No, she's definitely not lying. I've never known Odie to cry. In fact, she's been acting much different from her usual self, lately," observed Gabe. For a moment all was still when the three took what was going on.

Fritz savagely pounced at Hermione first chance he got, shaking her violently at the shoulders, "Get out! Leave Odie alone! I don't care about your stupid war, or your problems- leave my friend alone!" Gabe pried Fritz off of her, but not before giving a good punch to her left eye. Hermione breathed heavily, but did not cry out in pain, did not scream. She should have known something like this was going to happen. She deserved this, for the pain she caused them, she deserved it. Or at least, that was what she told herself.

Hermionestood up quietly, as she tried to remain as calm as possible, "You're right you know, I shouldn't be here.All I have to offer you is that I didn't know that this was going to happen, and I wish it didn't. Professor Dumbledore took my word for it, and I hope one day you'll believe me too. Odie isn't completely gone, she's there, inside my mind- or her mind, I can just feel it. Just know this, the sooner I know why I'm here, and accomplish whatever that is, the sooner I leave," Hermione said quietly. And with that, she swiftly turned to walk out the door, down the stairs, and into the common room. Luckily, no one noticed her in the common room as she made her way up to the dorms.

Not since first year had she felt so alone in Hogwarts. Even when she was at odds with Harry and Ron, there was Hagrid and Ginny- even Lavender and Parvati would talk to her sometimes. But here there was no one here, nobody at all.

And suddenly she felt very alone.

* * *

The next day their treatment was no better. Fritz, Luci, and Gabe continued to ignore her. They did not even acknowledge her presence- it was as if she was under Harry's Invisibility Cloak again. And her sudden status as an outcast drew attention to her- which only made things worse. She found salvation in her books, but she couldn't read too often either because that drew attention to her as well. She decided that she would attend the Slug Club dinner tonight- perhaps that would take her mind off of things. Sure, she doubted it, but either way she had to go.

There was also Tom to consider, not that things had really changed between them. He stuck to his Slytherin groupies, who probably feared him more than actually liked his company, and she kept to herself. As she had hoped, the detention in Charms hadn't changed anything between them. Or at least that's what she liked to think.

For now that she realized that Tom had never known real love, she found that a seed of pity had been planted in her stomach, and it refused to be reaped. It was only in her nature to want to help people, like with Neville in Potions. So she knew that she was only acting upon maternal instinct. Because no matter what, she always had to considered what Tom Riddle had done, and more importantly, would do. That was why she was here, wasn't she, because he had done many horrific things most wizards dare not dream of. She needed to stop him, not feel sorry.

"Odie?" a girl's voice asked shyly. Hermione jumped from her position on the couch in Gryffindor common room. It was just over a half an hour before she had to go to Slughorn's office, and since she had barely spoken with anyone that day, she had to admit she was at least a bit surprised.

It was Dorothea McKinnon, fellow Gryffindor duelist representative. A year younger than Hermione- or more accurately- Odessa Todd, the young redhead had cautious blue eye but an overall cheerful disposition. The girl radiated nervousness, and Hermione couldn't help but wonder why.

"Yes, Dorothea?" Hermione asked, and tried not to sound so solemn, so that she wouldn't let on about what had happened last night. The girl sat down next to her, large textbook in hand.

"Well, first off- would you mind going to Slughorn's little dinner party with me? I don't know anybody else Slughorn has deemed worthy of his company," she stated melodramatically, "In fact, I never thought I would be deemed worthy of his company, but I suppose that recent events might have changed his opinion of me. I didn't fancy going there alone, and since you have to be there anyway, so…"

"Of course!" exclaimed Hermione, and the redhead looked a bit taken aback, though pleased nonetheless.

"Really?" she questioned, "I mean, ever since that time when I was in second year and you in third, and I embarrassed you in the Great Hall… why, I thought you hated me! I mean, well, most people do…" her voice trailed off again, her eyes fellto the ground as she fidgeted with the pages of her textbook.

"What do you mean?" Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, "Why would I hold a grudge so long? And why would people hate you?"

Dorothea looked her right in the eye, it was her turn to be surprised, "You know, my parents?" she said as if that was supposed to answer everything. Hermione noddedas if she understood, although she had no idea what was going on. She supposed it was the usual pureblood frenzy.

"Well, the real reason I'm here is because I've heard you've also been studying for the dueling competition and I wanted to ask you since questions. You know, since I'm only a fifth year I haven't gotten to any NEWTs level spells. I'm borrowing a book from the library to help me with my studies. But, you see I'm having a lot of trouble with the Repetition Hex; do you think you could help me?"

Hermione took the aged textbook from the other girl's lap. In her own time, the Repetition Hex was considered to be a lesser form ofthe Dark Arts, seeing as the hex forced a wizard to keep repeating the last thing he did. The length he would have to endure this was determined by how much power was put into the spell. Looking at the cover, she saw that it was indeed a NEWTs Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. Although she had learned back in sixth year never to trust a book by its cover, she doubted Dorothea or any Gryffindor wanting to have anything to do with the Dark Arts. Besides, as she looked through the yellowed pages she saw that the other spells in the textbook looked safe enough. Hermione smiled despite herself, if she was not mistaken (and she usually wasn't) she was becoming quite paranoid.

"Well, the Repetition Hex is difficult in both pronunciation and wand movement. The phrase, _identidem_ is spoken twice, and first pronounced eye-dent-eye-dem, and then eye-dent-ee-dem," Hermione read the blurb about the spell aloud, "The student should practice speaking this phrase without a wand prior to utilizing the spell."

The girl nodded. "Eye-dent-eye-dem, eye-dent-ee-dem," she said slowly and carefully.

"Good," Hermione said encouragingly, "But you'll want to learn how to say it faster, if you expect to use it in a duel."

Dorothea smiled nervously, "Alright then. Eye-dent-eye-dem, eye-dent-ee-dem. Eye-dent-eye-dem eye-dent-eye-NO-ee-dem. Eye-dent-ee-eye-dem, no, that isn't right! Ugh, I'm hopeless, aren't I?" She groaned and accepted defeat quicker than Gryffindors were usually prone to.

"You need practice," Hermione said simply, "For now, I guess we best be off, if we want to get to Slughorn's little club on time." She closed the textbook and put it down on the table in front of her, "Do you want to take this upstairs?"

Dorothea shook her head, "No, I don't think anyone will be taking this." Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in response to what she assumed was disregard for books. She just hoped for Dorothea's sake that the current librarian was as strict as Madam Pince.

They made their way to the office in companionable silence. Hermione, who had beenquiet for the better part ofthe day, was tired after the sudden conversation, and Dorothea seemed to understand that. But Hermione began to realize that when she was silent, her mind tended to dwell on some not so pleasant things. So, as much as she didn't want to, she had to say something. The silence was like a poison, and if she didn't break it she'd go insane.

"So do you like Potions?" she asked the younger girl, trying to find anything the two of them could talk about while knowing just about nothing they had in common.

"Potions… I like it, even more so than dueling, but don't tell anyone that," she said cautiously, "But Professor Slughorn, well he's a different story, no offense. What I mean is well; he's just a tad bit..."

"Judgmental," Hermione finished, knowing perfectly well what she meant. Dorothea nodded, confirming Hermione's suspicion that Slughorn hadn't changed very much over the years. "Are you ready?" she asked as the approached Slughorn's office.

"As I'll ever be," Dorothea gave a weak smile and opened the door.

* * *

**Jessi Brooke:** Well, that was a weird place to stop, but this was on the verge of becoming the longest chapter ever, by about five hundred words, so I cut some of it out. High school is an evil place, and I'm starting to hate my middle school guidance counselor for convincing me to do all honors… Anyway, thank goodness for fanfiction, or I'd go insane!

**FanFictionFantom**- Thanks!

**Sarklover826**- Yup, it's sharing time for Hermione.

**404**-Cliffies are evil. But I just found out they are much more fun to write than to read evil grins

**HeirOfGryffindor10**- keeps going

**Mrs. Skywalker-** Yup, most Tom/Hermione fans seem to be Draco/Hermione fans first. I was one of those weirdos who went the other way around, but I still prefer Tom with Hermione.


	8. The Party

**Chapter Eight-** **The Party**

The office was almost exactly the same as Hermione remembered it from the sixth year Christmas party. Charmed to be larger than the usual office, it was tent like in appearance, donned in emerald, silver, and a sapphire blue. Lamps that floated near the ceiling in the center of the room gave off a silvery light, giving the room an unearthly appearance. The ghosts were present, performing the acts they usually reserved for Halloween night, and soft music played in the far corner of the room. It was stuffy and a bit crowded, but people still stuck to their houses. William Clearwater and a girl Hermione didn't know were discussing a very tricky charm with Flitwick(Hermione still had to force herself not to think of him as a professor), while Melvin Wells and a pair of Hufflepuff twins spoke with Fritz and Gabe, both of whom Hermione noticed were trying very hard to ignore her. There were others still there, but Hermione had yet to identify them.

Meanwhile, what seemed to be the usual brood of Slytherin Slug Club members glared at the rest contemptuously, as if daring any one of them to approach. Hermione exchanged glances with Tom before he went back to talking with a snooty Slytherin girl by the name of Melina Tallow. She frowned, that strange instinct of hers was acting up again.

"Ah, you've arrived!" Hermione found herself shaking the hand of a much younger Professor Slughorn, his once (or future) bald head now covered with thick straw colored hair, his mustache a gingery-blond. His belly was as large as his eyes were calculating.

"Thank you, sir, for inviting me," she said as he shook her hand with vigor, expertly ignoring the presence of Dorothea. Hermione noticed as Dorothea eyes faced downward, and began to fidget with the sleeves of her robe. "And thank you for inviting Dorothea, as well." The redhead jumped at the mentioning of her name, eyes darting back from Professor Slughorn to Hermione with surprise.

Professor Slughorn looked rather put out on having to acknowledge Dorothea's presence and said a rather cold "You're most welcome," before finding someone more worthy of his presence to speak to.

"You really didn't have to do that," she said cheeks burning red, "I don't need anyone to fight my battles."

Hermione's eyes squeezed tight with agitation, "Well, it was rude of him to ignore you."

"You get used to it," she shrugged, "But I'll let everyone know that I'm around when I'm ready, okay? On my own terms, not yours."

The old Gryffindor attitude was kicking in again, her own wanting to help Dorothea, and Dorothea's own pride that refused to accept help. There was nothing she could do to fight it, so she simply nodded.

"Hello Dorothea!" a stout Hufflepuff boy greeted brightly. His red hair matched Dorothea's own, and Hermione reckoned they were related.

"Oh, hello Ryan," she smiled, "Oh, Odie, this is my little cousin- Ryan McKinnon. His father's awfully important in the Ministry."

"I'm sure," Hermione responded dryly, looking down at another jewel for Professor's Slughorn prized collection. She wondered absentmindedly how many people really knew the reason they were there.

A moment later, Hermione found herself very much alone and without anyone to talk to, which was a definite feat, considering how crowded with people the office was. She stood there awkwardly, wondering what she was supposed to do now.

"Pardons, Miss," a high-pitched voice squeaked as she felt a tug on her robes, "Would Miss likes Plucky to get Miss refreshments?"

She bent down to look at the young male house elf donned in nothing but rags. She sighed; she doubted she would have the time to promote SPEW while she was here. Definitely a pity, just think of all the saved house elves there would be if she had gotten to liberating them earlier!

"Just a glass of water, please," Hermione answered politely. Plucky blinked and nodded his head in understanding.

"Plucky be going to getting water right away Miss, Plucky is," and with an extra hop to his step from the strange joy of being able to follow a command, he was off. Hermione watched him make his way through the crowd.

She also watched as Melina Tallow stuck out her foot to trip Plucky as he passed her by, getting much laughter from the Slytherin crowd.

Now if anything was as infuriating to a promoter of elfish welfare, that demonstration of cruelty was. Hermione felt a fire ignite in her heart, and she was as angry anything. No one mistreated house elves like that, especially in front of her.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Tallow?" Hermione questioned, hands on hips as she stomped her way over there.

The taller older girl tossed her gray blond hair back and gave Hermione a condescending look, "Aw," she smirked, "Look at that, the scum stick up for each other!"

Hermione's eyes narrowed as she glared at Melina, "A person is judged not how they treat people superior or equal to them, but how they treat people inferior to them. And obviously you're nothing but a prissy good-for-nothing slime ball Slytherin."

"Aw look!" she pouted sarcastically, "The dirty little mudblood is standing up for herself. Just go back to the dirt hole you came from, mudblood, nobody wants you here."

Hermione immediately reached for her wand. She would hex this girl to pieces, she would, she'd show her who was dirt and who was not.

"My, my," Hermione saw Dorothea immediately come up to her side, a bit nervous, but brave nonetheless, "I mean, I've heard that Slytherins are stupid, but I- I always thought they, that they could at least count," she sputtered out.

Hermione and Dorothea exchanged smiles as the Slytherins smirked amongst themselves. "Going to curse her McKinnon? I'd like to see you try," said a small and skinny teen as he came to the front of his group, "You know you're really meant to be in Slytherin, with us."

So this was a bigger thing than Hermione had surmised. Dorothea's parents had to be very awful, to be so notorious among the Slytherins. Hermione was still in disbelief- how could anyone related to Dorothea be evil?

Dorothea shook her head at them, "I'm not my parents, I'm a Gryffindor- I make my own decisions."

Hermione noticed Gabe glance over in her direction for a moment, before Fritz grabbed his attention again. Hermione couldn't help but smile inwardly, so Gabe must forgive her, which was something, even if the others had not. Meanwhile, it looked as if Dorothea really was going to throw a curse at those Slytherins.

"What's going on here?" Hermione swear she felt her heart stop for a moment as she heard the accusing voice of Professor Slughorn. Immediately the Slytherin group put on innocent facades, and Dorothea shoved her wand back into her robes as quickly and discreetly as possible.

"Everything's fine here, Professor," Tom said smoothly, speaking for the first time, "Just some healthy house rivalry. We were discussing Quidditch, you see." Hermione stared at Slughorn, finding herself in the strange position of hoping that the professor would believe Riddle and his lies.

"Ah, of course, Riddle," Professor Slughorn nodded in approval, "Both Slytherin and Gryffindor have put together formidable teams this year, or so I've heard."

"Yes, sir," Hermione agreed, going along with the falsehood, "Gryffindor's a sure win for the Quidditch Cup."

The professor glanced from Slytherins to Gryffindors, surveying the innocent expressions on each student's face. But Hermione thought that it was Tom that really did, looking calm and cool as ever, definitely gave the head of Slytherin the idea that there was no reason to worry. Slughorn turned on his heels to talk to another student, and Hermione found she needed to let out a breath of relief. Then, when she recalled the situation, she promptly got Dorothea and herself as far away from the Slytherin pack as possible, so that the group wouldn't have a chance to start up with the two girls again.

"Plucky gets the water, Miss," the house elf held the glass high above his head. Hermione still needed to bend down when she received it, and before she could say anything to the little elf he had taken off.

"You know, for a moment back there, I really did want to curse them," Dorothea confessed.

Hermione smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry about it, I wanted to hex them myself- especially that Tallow, she's horrible. But we'll both get our chance to do hex them to pieces during the tournament." Dorothea smiled back, and the two of them spoke nothing of it for the rest of the night.

The rest of the party flew by quickly for Hermione; she spent the remainder of the time talking to Dorothea, her cousin, and a group of other Hufflepuff students. They were kind and all, but she had to admit she'd rather speak to Gryffindors any day.

So, as she bid her goodbyes and started making her way with Dorothea up to the common room, she had to say that she was happy to go to sleep.

And then she felt a hand on her elbow, leading her away. She looked up to see who it was.

Gabe.

She let him take her to an empty classroom, where he closed the door and locked it behind them. Hermione didn't know what to say, so she waited for him to speak first.

"So," he began slowly, "I just want to say I'm not doing this for you, you can be sure of that. I'm doing it for Odie. The others are both against it, but… I'm going to help you out."

Hermione couldn't contain her joy; she grinned happily and hugged him. He seemed surprised by her sudden outburst, and patted her back awkwardly.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" he asked expectantly. She looked up at him, confused for a moment.

"I've been looking up possession, but there's been nothing like this reported before- there's not even anything on the Room of Requirements in "Hogwarts, A History" and I checked three times! It's as if this has never happened before, which is really odd-"

"Okay, breathe," he said, calmly interrupting her, "Tomorrow, during lunch, we'll go to the library and see if I can help you find anything about this Room of Requirements place. There's got to be something on it somewhere in Hogwarts, I've never seen a bigger library."

Hermione nodded, and pulled away from him, "Well, thanks again." Her heart skipped a beat- she knew exactly where to look now!

He shrugged, walking to the door, and held it open for her, "It's not for you, remember that, but, you're welcome."

She gave him a half-smile, "I'll remember that. I think I'm going to go for a walk, so I won't be up in Gryffindor Tower for a while."

"Just don't get caught, we're in a tight race with Ravenclaw, and I don't know if you know this, but Gryffindor hasn't won in-"

"Nine years," she finished for him, "They keep a list in the library, and I saw it in the future."

"Right," he nodded; the thought of her coming from an entirely different time still irked him a bit, "Do we win it this year? The house cup, I mean."

Hermione pursed her lips together and looked up at him, scolding him like she used to scold Ron and Harry, "I can't tell you what happens in the future! It's not important, and it's against the law to use time turners and the like to exploit the outcomes of any competitions!"

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged again, "Well, it was worth a shot. 'Night, erm… Odie."

"Goodnight, Gabe," she waved goodbye, and they both went their separate ways.

If she were in her own time, back in her own body, then her midnight trek might have seemed awfully strange for her to be taking. After all, since when did the resident bookworm make stops at the kitchens for a midnight snack? Of course, had they been Gryffindors from her time, they might assume that she was going down there to promote SPEW and liberty for house elves, but this was not the case. But if there was one thing that Hermione knew, it was this. The house elves worked very hard, harder than they should have to. They kept every inch of the castle in livable conditions, which was a definite feat.

And to do that, they had to have been in every inch of the castle, which was an even greater feat. Which meant that one of them, at least one of them had to know about the Room of Requirements. And maybe, just maybe, one of them knew how it had gotten her here!

"Stop."

And Hermione did just that, spinning around to face the owner of the voice. She knew it immediately. It was Tom Riddle. Tom Riddle… Slytherin Prefect. She muttered angrily under her breath.

"You know where I was, Riddle, and why I'm out of bed after hours," I said warily, "I'm just going up to bed- is that such a crime?"

"Now, if I'm not mistaken- and I'm usually not- you're heading in the opposite of Gryffindor Tower, which means that Dumbledore's goody-good's up to some mischief," he smirked, clearly enjoying the situation, "So, either you've suddenly gone daft, or you're up to something, Todd."

"Just going to the kitchens for a midnight snack, Riddle," I said, truthfully, although, not really telling the whole truth.

"You just came from Slughorn's party, mudblood. Surely you had enough to stuff your face with there," he raised his eyebrow at me, leaning lazily against the wall as he kept his magically lit wand pointed at me.

"Well, you and your little group hardly allowed me to even get a glass of water," she replied coolly. Her fingers brushed at her wand in her pocket, ready to use it if she had to. He sized Hermione up, trying to decide whether or not she was lying.

"Why do you care?" he asked her carefully, "Why do you care if Melina tripped an elf?"

SPEW speeches from long ago came to mind, the kind that Ron and Harry and everyone else always scoffed at. She smiled sadly, reciting the saying of an old friend once more, "A man is judged by the way he treats those who are lower than him. It's not right to treat the house elves badly. They do so much for us, after all."

He waved his wand back and forth in boredom, "And, you think you can change people? Like the McKinnon girl, you know her parents are big supporters of Grindelwald. They hate mudbloods, they hate people like you."

"Dorothea," I corrected him, "Doesn't need any changing, just a confidence boost. She makes her own choices; she decides who she wants to be. Dorothea's not like her parents at all, and if anyone would just take the time to get to know her then they would see that she's very different than…"

Hermione stopped talking and closed her mouth as she realized that Tom was staring at her oddly, as if he had never seen her before. Hermione stared back at him, expecting some sort of retort. But there was none.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor- now get out of my sight," he ordered sternly, not looking at her. She stared at him, her eyes filled with confusion. "Twenty points from Gryffindor, so get out of my sight," he repeated himself, "Go before I make it forty."

Hermione nodded, and started back up to Gryffindor Tower, not wanting to cost her house any further points. She glanced at him from over her shoulder, still not trusting him enough to turn her back on him. He was glaring at her, he looked very angry, and Hermione could not understand why.

"You're wrong, mudblood," he said angrily, "You can't change a person's nature. People are what they are made to be. You can't change that."

Hermione looked away as she turned the corner. Why did he have to be so difficult? If she didn't know the terror he would create when he was older, she might say that he was put on this earth solely to torment her. He doubted every move she made, questioned her every choice. And most importantly, he thought that she wouldn't be able to change a person. Well, she'd show him. And she'd use the perfect example too- himself. This had to be what she was here to do, to change Tom Riddle, no matter how obstinate he was. She, Hermione Granger, was going to change him, and by doing that, change history.

"Watch me."

And as Hermione went to sleep, for the first time, in a long time, she felt confident and, she had a plan.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, glad to get that out of the way! Transitioningness, setting upness, all that fun stuff. Lot's of goodness coming up… don't want to spoil it… there's dueling and new people… and there's also Odessa Todd… but, that's all I'm going to say…

**PS-** thanks to encantada for the correction!

**FanFictionFantom:** Couldn't have put it better myself.

**Vla1diva:** heh, heh…. Yeah, I'd like it better if I updated faster too… Well, let's be realistic, if you found out one of your friends was being possessed by a spirit from the future, would you want to talk to them, at least at first? Not that it's realistic that someone would ever be possessed by a spirit from the future but… you know.

**mrs. skywalker:** Fritz was harsh, I suppose, but he just really get his anger get to him. Yup, someone needs anger management… yup, guy who played Tom in movie was really hott in the movie and we get to see him again in the six movie, however far away that is :spazzes like Remus fangirl friend:

**404: **Faster updates… okay, I'll try!

**Sarklover826:** Well, Gabe is helping her, at least. And Dorothea's come into the picture too. Well, yeah, most people stay dramione as well as tom/Hermione shippers, as for me, I never got dramione, but that's just me and my, I guess.


	9. All in Her Head

**Jessi Brooke's Insane Rambling Time (aka, author's note):** So, I have a lot of back story on all of the past characters, and this was just begging to be used, so you're going to see A LOT of dialogue, and a lot of back story in this chapter, just a warning.

But that was the coherent part of my babble- now to the insane, pointless part that only TR/HG obsessed people will care about. So if you don't really care- scroll down now. So even though there probably aren't any people reading this, I shall continue, because this has been bugging me for the past week. Okay, here goes- is it just me, or have most TR/HG stories posted lately have Hermione going to Dumbledore because he wants her to go on a mission, and she takes a time-turner back, runs to 1940s Dumbledore to tell him his future self sent her here, she gets sorted and within the next few paragraphs she meets Riddle? And oh yeah, they usually have a good first impression too! It's either that, or it's the finally battle, and she can't take it anymore so she uses the time turner. It is so friggin cliché that it's driving me INSANER! Which is a very, very bad thing, seeing as I like what little sanity I have. And all the cliché-ness really makes it hard for the story to be good, the author has to write seriously kick-ass stuff for me to be impressed. And this also worries me, because I used to love reading Lily/James stuff, and Hermione/Remus ships as well, and then the ship got so overrun with cliché stories that for me, the ships sunk and I can't stand them anymore. I don't want that to happen again! So if anyone here is thinking of writing a TR/HG, and begins with one of the two aforementioned scenarios, do not be surprised if I suddenly go haywire in a review to that story. ORIGINALITY IS GOOD PEOPLE! Okay, that's the end of my little rant, I'm going to calm down now- tah tah.

**vla1diva:** Well, here's a faster update for you.

**Encantada:** Yay for non-cliché (see ramblings above) ! Well, there had to be some sort of change in appearance, otherwise some random person would recognize her in the future, and that we can't have that. Yup, Hermione's got to be someone else, but she's still herself… the insane complex things my mind comes up with. Fixed the part with the elf, honestly I've been totally out of it lately… I blame Biology- yes, Biology is a good scapegoat. And as for not sending back Draco, well as I've said, I never was a Dramione fan myself, so I guess that's why.

**mrs. Skywalker:** spazzes is a word that can be used very often around me. And as for Odessa, well, you'll see.

**Mrs. Pierre Bouvier:** blushes thanks!

* * *

**Chapter Nine: All in Her Head**

Gray mist that clouded her surroundings was the first thing that Hermione saw when she opened her eyes. She blinked in surprise- hadn't she just gone to bed? Yes, she did believe she had. So how had she ended up standing in a confusion of gray blur?

"I would think that the answer would be obvious," an answer to her thoughts came through a condescending voice, "At least, obvious to one as intelligent as yourself." It was a familiar voice, one that she knew all to well. But, how could it be…

"Took you long enough," the voice remarked, "I was wondering if you'd ever figure out it was me. You know, for a smart person, you could be incredibly daft. It's kind of amusing to watch, actually," then added bitterly, "Although, I'm not really watching it, seeing as it's all happening in my very own body!"

A girl with a heart-shaped face appeared in front of her, tight brown curls tied back in a ponytail and brown eyes that looked identical to her own, but glared at her more angrily and spitefully than Hermione ever recalled feeling.

This was the very first time that Hermione had the chance to see Odessa from the outside looking in, and she used her chance to observe the difference between her and Odessa. She was smaller than Hermione, and her body more athletic, physically she was definitely stronger than Hermione was.

It was only then that Hermione began to wonder that, if she was looking at Odessa, then what was she? Whose body was she in? She looked down at herself, examining her hands, her hair. It was all she could do to keep from grinning, for she was back in her very own body. Taller, bushier crazy hair, curvier than Odessa, though that was hardly saying much. She flexed her fingers awkwardly, it felt different, but it was good to be home.

"What's going on?" she inquired the other girl with a certain air of suspicion. She did not mean to come off so unkind, but after all her experiences, it felt strange to just suddenly be back. It didn't make any sense. And Hermione Jane Granger would never be content with an illogical explanation for anything.

"Oh, don't get _my_ hopes up, honey- it's only a dream. In a few hours you'll wake up to reign over my body once more, and I'll be just another train of thought amongst millions flying around that brain we currently are sharing."

Hermione took this information in slowly. For the past month, she had been sharing a body with another soul that was very angry at her at the moment- and not without reason. She felt herself become faint, she needed to sit down… and all of the sudden she was sitting on a big blue armchair.

"What in the world?" Hermione murmured, her fingers traced the sides of the chair in disbelief, "How is this possible?"

"It's a dream, Granger," Odessa answered, "And in dreams, anything is possible, rather, anything you want to happen is possible. In dreams, you are the one in control. It's your hopes, your dreams, and your fears that matter, and nothing else. And speaking of control, would you mind changing the setting? I don't know about you, but I find it rather dull and dreary."

The first place that came to Hermione's mind was the Gryffindor common room, on the couch that sat directly opposite the fire. And in just under a moment, she found herself there, sat next to Odessa, who looked rather bored.

"Well, not the most original or extraordinary place to put us, but I suppose that it will have to do," Odessa commented dryly, and Hermione gave the girl who looked more determined to insult her than Tom Riddle himself a very dirty look. Odessa smiled back at her, seemingly glad to have inspired such frustration in Hermione. "Well," she said, "We haven't very much time left until you wake, so I suppose you should ask me any questions about me so that you can play a more believable Odessa Todd."

"Well, I guess I should want to know why you haven't spoken with me before. It's been months since I've been in this era. Why now?" Hermione asked the other girl. Odessa had gotten up and sprawled herself out lazily on one of the couches and stared at the ceiling, as if trying to make it explode with her glare.

"But I _have_ spoken with you before," she said, her eyes still fixed on the ceiling, "You knew my friend's names automatically because of me. You find yourself more agile because I tell you how to move. Every little thing you automatically knew, but didn't know how you knew it, was all me, and whether or not you choose to ignore me is a whole other story," she paused, "But you wanted to know why I haven't truly spoken with you before, one-on-one. That's a good question, I'll admit. But I of course, have an answer. You see, we are two souls sharing one body. If we were to interact more, as we are at this moment, we would obvious become intermingled, and then most probably, insane."

Hermione continued to stare at Odessa. There something wrong about the textbook manner in which she spoke. Before Odessa had sounded haughty, now she sounded as if she had read it somewhere. And Hermione surely hadn't read it somewhere.

Odessa Todd wasn't the sort of person to spend time in the library.

"You've known someone before. Someone whose had to share a body with another person. Or, at least you've read it before," Hermione accused her. Odessa stiffened, but said nothing. Hermione could hear her think something about girls from the future who shouldn't be prodding into the personal lives of others.

"But I have to know," Hermione folded her arms, almost mockingly of the other girl, "If I am to play you in a believable fashion, that is."

For a while Odessa's eyes remained fixed on the one spot in the ceiling, but Hermione could hear her trying to decide what to say, and more importantly, what not to. It was a strange and foreign feeling, being able to hear another person's thoughts. And Hermione decided she didn't like it one bit. For if a person did not have the luxury of their own thoughts being private, what did they have? As much as Hermione hated to admit it, Odessa was right, if they continued to interact, they would surely both become insane.

"Ever wonder why you never get letters from my family, Granger?" she said, her voice quiet and aloof, "Ever wonder that when Luci noticed something was wrong, one of the first things she asked about was my parents?" Hermione chewed on her bottom lip silently, completely stumped as to where Odessa was going with this.

"I bet you might have even thought it was because of the war going on, and the joint forces of the muggle Hitler and the wizard Grindelwald, I never really bothered inquiring as to what you thought of it actually. And I suppose I should tell you what goes on in my family life. Actually… in a way, it does have to do with the war going on.

"Let me give you a history lesson. It's 1943 now, and as you probably know from the future, no matter who wins this, Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, back when I was beginning my second year at Hogwarts. At that time, it was me, my two older brothers, and five younger brothers and sister, and of course my mum and my dad. My brothers and father, being related to me, were also brave people who enjoyed fighting; especially for something they believed it. So it wasn't surprising when they joined the British Royal Air Force," she paused again, her eyes never leaving the spot on the ceiling, "But like all wars, people die, and sometimes the people who end up dying happen to be your brothers. As was expected, my parents were in despair, especially my mother. She was under a lot of stress, seeing as there were five little ones to take care of, and we lived in a small cottage, secluded from most people, and she just heard her two sons had died, and my father was off to war.

"About two weeks after their deaths, which was sometime in February of 1944- I don't recall the exact date- she wrote me a letter asking me to leave school to come home and help take care of the family, sometimes in her letters, she mentioned some woman named Lydia, and I thought it was a friend. I said no, seeing as I was sick of being around the little ones all the time when I was at home- they were the most annoying things in the world, and she obviously had that Lydia person to help her. She fought and fought for me to come back, but Headmaster Dippet and Professor Dumbledore finally managed to get her to leave me be. I didn't hear from her again for the rest of the year. I figured she'd be angry with me, but she'd get over it and I wasn't worried. I came home at the end of the year, as usual, and to my surprise, my father had come home from war. Right then and there he informed me my mother was locked up in some asylum, as she had been diagnosed with some mental disease, Lydia was some sort of manifestation, and my mum could no longer take care of my siblings.

"Then, about a month into vacation, when things couldn't have gotten worse, Dad was taking me to Diagon Alley, where he somehow managed to find a copy of some pro-Grindelwald magazine. He put two and two together, and figured out that Grindelwald was affiliated with Hitler and the Axis. And we fought…" her voice lost its aloofness, and for a moment Hermione thought the other girl would cry, "Basically, he and accused witches and wizards everywhere as demonic beings incapable of doing anything positive. I told him that I was good, and that if I really wanted to I could have cursed him by now, but, that really didn't seem to help the situation. Ever since we've been on bad terms, really bad terms- I don't even go home for the holidays anymore, just summers."

The room fell deafeningly silent when Odessa stopped talking. Hermione said nothing for awhile, absorbing everything that Odessa had just said.

"So is that why you want to be an auror? To prove to your father not all wizards are bad?" asked Hermione.

"Partly," Odessa nodded, finally looking away from the ceiling, "But mostly because we Todd's enjoy fighting, especially for what we believe in." 'Well, not the most peaceful of families,' Hermione thought to herself.

"You know, I can hear your thoughts," Odessa commented dryly. Hermione, who had forgotten that for the moment, blushed. "I don't want to end up like that," Odie added quietly, "I don't want to be locked up; I don't want to cause any pain. Merlin knows everyone been threw enough already."

"ODIE," a large, echoing voice called. Odessa and Hermione exchanged glances, both knowing that it was someone outside, calling for Hermione to wake.

"Damn, I wanted to tell you more, but I guess I'll just have to wish you good luck and hope Gabe can fill you in on the rest," Odessa muttered. Hermione's eyes widened in alarm- she needed this time with Odessa, she probably would never get the chance again.

"ODIE!" the voice called again, and suddenly the place that Odessa had been studying early expanded, showing a void that got larger and large until Hermione felt her eyelids flutter open and she knew she was awake.

Hermione looked around the room wildly, trying to find the source of her awakening, to find that it was only Dorothea, who was sitting right in front of her.

"Are you alright Odie?" Dorothea asked, concerned, "You're covered in sweat." Hermione examined her hands, crestfallen to wake up to the reality of being in the body of Odessa.

"I'm fine," she forced a smile, "It was just, just a nightmare." Hermione felt like Dorothea could look right past her, as if she knew she really wasn't Odessa, and Hermione shifted in her bed uncomfortably.

"Well, whatever it is, you know you can tell me," she said, "Now, the reason I've come to wake you up at the oh-so inconvenient time of five-thirty in the morn, was because we duelists have an early meeting in Headmaster Dippet's office at seven o'clock. Now get up, get in the showers and get ready- I figure we'll stop to get some breakfast to eat on the way to the Headmaster's office. Hurry up, we best not be late."

As Hermione went to the showers, she couldn't help but think that Dorothea had just sounded very maternal, much like Mrs. Weasley. She closed the door to the bathroom behind her, deciding she definitely needed a hot shower after what had just occurred.

A half an hour later she came out of the shower ready to go, to see Dorothea sitting on the edge of her bed patiently while the four other girls in Hermione's dormitory snored away. Well, three of them at least, for she could have sworn that Luci was awake, only pretending to be asleep as gossipy eyes peaked out from the covers.

Their trek down to the Great Hall was completely uneventful, as far as walking through a magical castle goes. They each took a roll of bread to stuff in their mouths before they met with the Headmaster, and by six-forty-five they were waiting outside of the Headmaster's office. It appeared they were the first ones there. It was then that they realized they had another problem.

"What's the password?" Dorothea asked nervously. Hermione gulped, she didn't know it, and seeing as Dumbledore wasn't headmaster, it probably wasn't candy, and so she had absolutely no idea as to what it would have to do with.

"I suppose we'll just have to sit and wait for someone else to come along and tell us the password," she shrugged, "Let's just hope that everyone isn't late."

But no sooner did the words leave her mouth, did the one person Hermione didn't look forward to seeing come down the hallway. The one person who definitely knew the password, and definitelywould give her and Dorothea the hardest time.

"Good morning, Riddle."

* * *

Yup, just as Riddle comes in, I cut off the chapter. On the bright side, this means there will be mucho Riddleness, next chapter ;)


	10. Collateral

**Chapter Ten- Collateral**

"_What's the password?" Dorothea asked nervously. Hermione gulped, she didn't know it, and seeing as Dumbledore wasn't headmaster, it probably wasn't candy, and so she had absolutely no idea as to what it would have to do with._

"_I suppose we'll just have to sit and wait for someone else to come along and tell us the password," she shrugged, "Let's just hope that everyone isn't late."_

_But no sooner did the words leave her mouth, did the one person Hermione didn't look forward to seeing come down the hallway. The one person who definitely knew the password, and definitely would give her and Dorothea the hardest time._

"_Good morning, Riddle."_

"Todd," he acknowledged accusingly, "Just what are you doing here?" By the tone of his voice, Hermione knew one thing immediately- Tom Riddle was most definitely not a morning person.

"Same as you, Riddle," Hermione, "We're here for a meeting with the Headmaster." She found it much easier to remain calm around Riddle, now that she realized he'd never felt love, and was on a mission to prove him wrong. She used to love to prove people wrong, she recalled, used to love to correct teachers and show how smart and well-read she was. Why, she'd always make sure she was the first one to raise her; never shied away from tough homework- she'd embraced the challenge. And now that she was older, she was going to embrace the challenge of changing Tom Riddle.

"And how does that attest to your standing around here and not going up to the office?" he challenged her, acting as if he didn't know exactly why she was not able to go past the stone guard. He reveled in the torture. And the both of them knew it.

"The password," Dorothea responded before Hermione could say anything, "Neither of us know the password to the Headmaster's office. And, well, as we all know, you do, you know because you are a prefect." Hermione cringed, and if she weren't already dealing with Riddle, she might have elbowed Dorothea in the ribs. That was just the wrong thing to say.

"Ah yes, I had forgotten that neither of you are prefects," he said politely, but Hermione could tell he had known all along, "Because one Miss McKinnon would never be able to demand the respect needed to have any authority, and one Miss Todd is an _arrogant midget of a mudblood who thinks just because she has a little dueling talent means she is queen of the world_." The words hit Hermione hard, as well as Dorothea, who cringed profusely. Quite suddenly Hermione found the anger she had held for Tom rekindled, and she found herself glaring at him.

He glowered back, and Hermione felt a foreign presence tickling at the edges of her mind, trying to slip its way in… 'OUT' she could have sworn something else in her head cry angrily, that voice she knew now was that of the real Odessa Todd. Hermione's jaw dropped slightly as she realized what this meant- what Tom had just tried to do, and what it could've meant if Odessa hadn't intervened…

"Thanks," she muttered quietly, but not quietly enough, as Tom and Dorothea both turn their heads in suspicion.

"Pardon?" a polite Dorothea asked, furrowing her eyebrows. Internally Hermione winced, for coming up for an excuse for this one would be quite tricky. Odessa was right, interaction between the two of them probably was a bad idea.

"Good morning," tall, impassive William Clearwater strutted down the hallway, "Have all of you forgotten the password to the headmaster's office? Well, that's hardly acceptable, how could one expect any of you to triumph in a dueling tournament where one must be able to think quickly and tactfully on his or her feet." Dorothea and Hermione exchanged glances, though privately Hermione was very grateful for William's cutting in.

And it was one of the few times in her life that Hermione was thankful for the loud, arrogant snobs in the world. The way Tom glared at her she knew he was still suspicious, but then, she had almost grown accustomed to being under his scrutiny.

William uttered the password, whereupon the gargoyle let them pass through to the staircase that would lead them up to the Headmaster's office formed and the four students climbed up in silence, William leading proudly, followed by Dorothea and Odessa, and last of all, Tom, who had ever so politely allowed the ladies to go first.

As she had never been in the headmaster's office since coming to this time period, her curious eyes glanced around the room with restrained hunger. How she would have loved to explore ever inch of the room, talk to the painting of the headmasters of old, and to read the books and scrolls stacked high, some piles ending only at the ceiling. She had to admit that the room was much more intriguing and mysterious when Professor Dumbledore was (or in this case) will be in office, and the curtains that covered the windows made the office look smaller, but the bookworm in her loved it anyway. Dippet, it appeared, was quite the bookworm himself, and piles of scrolls sat messily on his desk, blocking the young duelists from his field of vision.

"Headmaster Dippet, sir, we received your owls," Tom said tentatively. It always irked Hermione how his personality changed so much when he talked to professors, or was in large groups of people, but she supposed that was the way he had maintained a reputation of being a charming, polite, and overall perfect-student, believed by all but Dumbledore and herself. Admittedly, she probably wouldn't have been able to see past him if she had come from this time period, but she couldn't blame herself. If he could fool the teachers, he could fool anybody.

There was a rustling of papers from behind the desk, and a worn looking scroll unraveled itself and fell from the desk to the floor. The piles of books were parted with two old, wrinkly hands, and more books proceeded to fall from the desk and scrolls to unravel. One of the heavier books fell on Tom's foot, and he winced. Hermione could not help but let out a small chuckle.

A small, wizened old man looked up at them, a few wisps of white hair remained on his balding head, and although he was tubby he looked very frail. Hermione, however, couldn't blame him, as he was forced to deal with the Chamber of Secrets and a murder just the semester before. And he didn't even know who the real perpetrator was.

"Ah, Mr. Riddle," a tired voice smiled, "Miss Todd, Mr. Clearwater… and Miss McKinnon- good morning! Glad to see that you all could come. I see we're missing four of our school duelists, however. Let us sit and wait for them to arrive, I suppose it would be must efficient to tell you all at once."

Hermione looked around, trying to find a place to sit, but there was none. 'HAVE YOU MAD? ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?' Hermione could just hear an eleven-year-old Ron bellow at her. Her face blushing and her lips making an embarrassed smile, she took a quill out of her pocket and transfigured it into a mahogany chair with a crimson cushion. She pushed it close to the headmaster's desk, and then sat quietly between Tom and Dorothea.

"Sorry we're late!" squeaked little Filius Flitwick, followed by Hufflepuff Melvin Wells, a tall, big boy who ran his hand nervously through curly black hair as the other hand adjusted his glasses.

"Peeves was making trouble again, sir," explained Melvin, "But please don't threaten to expel him from the school again- I don't think he had any ill intent, he only meant it for fun."

"I can't have Peeves hindering my star duelists," cautioned Dippet, "Nobody wants Hogwarts to lose because some poltergeist can't control his chaotic urges."

Last, Melina and Fritz (who still refused to acknowledge Hermione) walked in within five minutes of each other, both muttering apologies for their tardiness.

"Well, this is your last chance to be tardy, for you see; I don't want Hogwarts students looking like slackers. You are the representatives of our region, after all, as are Durmstrang, Beaxbatons, and Magicus students. See to it that it doesn't happen again- or I'll disqualify you myself, and put a more worthy student in your place. Am I understood?" questioned the thoroughly annoyed professor. All eight of them nodded their heads, afraid to say anything stupid.

"Ah splendid, splendid, now on to business. As you know, you've all been called here today on account of Dueling Team business. The other schools should be coming today, although I know that Durmstrang and Magicus have been having some difficulty finding means of transportation…" the headmaster's voice trailed off so that it was not understandable at this point, "But no matter, that's none of your concern! Since this type of competition between so many schools has never been done before, and at a time like this where everyone needs something to cheer them up, I must warn you that this competition will be getting a large amount of attention from the media. Reporters will be visiting the school, no doubt to interview you lot. Also, all of your families have been invited to the welcome banquet tonight- as well as many dignitaries from the Ministry- which brings me to the reason I've called you here!"

The old man fumbled through his parchments unprofessionally, and a scroll that Hermione recognized as Dumbledore's handwriting on it unrolled itself onto her lab. She tried to roll it back up nonchalantly and without looking at it. She didn't want Headmaster Dippet to think she was a snoop.

"Sir, do you need any help with that?" Tom offered politely. Dorothea muffled her snort with fake coughing, but Hermione was better at restraining her laughter. But really, it was very amusing to see Tom acting so polite to a teacher, when just moments before he had been bullying the both of them.

"No, thank you Mr. Riddle… by Merlin where could it be in this disaster of a desk… aha, I've got it!" and he pulled eight ancient leather bound books. They were very thin; they only looked to be about two hundred pages or so. Hermione could have it done in less than two hours, at most. Headmaster Dippet gave the books to Tom, who passed them around, making sure Hermione got the last, most decrepit looking one. "These are your copies of the rule books for dueling- I've also included some parchment about each of the schools, so that you all will be in the know when you greet them. Speaking of which, I've assigned each of you partners, and each of you will be in charge of a different group. Mr. Potter and Mr. Wells will be in charge of making sure the students Beaxbatons Academy have a completely comfortable and terrific time while they are here. Mr. Clearwater and Miss Tallow shall be aiding Durmstrang Institute, and Mr. Flitwick and Miss McKinnon will be helping Magicus Hall. Now, I know that they are your competition, but as they are in a new and foreign place, I feel it would be kind if they could know that there is someone who can help them out should they have a problem."

Hermione waited for him to say more, expecting him to assign her a task. But all the schools had been assigned, leaving her and Tom without a group. Now, why would the headmaster do that? Surely he was going to be treating them all equally, and it couldn't be that it was because he didn't like the two of them, what with Tom being such a suck-up. Or maybe he only thought Hermione not worthy of a job, and wasn't giving Tom a job because he didn't want to burden him. But Hermione thought it would be an honor to not only compete with but aid foreign students- what an opportunity it would be to learn about other cultures!

"You are all dismissed, actually, now that I remember, you are dismissed from all your classes today, although you may go if you choose, otherwise use your time wisely- the entire lot of you may go to breakfast- except for Mr. Riddle and Miss Todd that is," said the elderly headmaster. Hermione almost got up from her seat before remembering that she _was_ Miss Todd, and ought to be staying. She sighed; it was definitely not the best of days for her.

As soon as the other students had cleared out of the room, and the door securely shut behind them, the headmaster handed each of them a scroll of parchment in addition to the books they already had.

"Headmaster, what are these for?" Hermione spoke up for the first time in the office, her voice sounding more nervous and vacillating more than she had planned. She unraveled the crisp piece of parchment to find that there was a list of names with occupations next to them.

"I believe I informed you earlier that many Ministry dignitaries will be attending… or not, I can't be sure, my memory isn't quite what it used to be. Nevertheless, you are to memorize this list, and the occupations of every person on it for tonight, seeing as the two of you will be their student greeters. Any questions?" Dippet asked, and both Hermione and Tom shook their heads.

"Brilliant!" exclaimed Dippet, "Now, off to breakfast, the both of you, and join your friends."

"Good day, Headmaster," said Hermione, as she un-transfigured her chair back into a quill, and stuck the quill back into her pocket.

She walked down the winding staircase with Tom, feeling somewhat happy that at least she'd be able to spend more time with him, if not learn about more cultures. She and him had something in common, neither of them had families coming to that night's banquet. That was why Dippet had picked them, probably. Neither of them would be bothered by family members, and both could be distracted with the attention of ministry people. A clever move, on his part, but a move she was sure both she and Tom saw right through him.

"Why don't we get right to work on memorizing these names? We can test each other on it," Hermione offered as they passed by the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the headmaster's office.

"How about you tell me who in the world you were thanking before Clearwater waltzed in and then I memorize the names and you just smile and nod at all the appropriate places?" he replied sarcastically, and Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"Just like you wanted to solve all those riddles by yourself in Charms detention- and look how that turned out," Hermione crossed her arms at him.

He widened his strides and walked faster in some bad attempt to leave her behind, but she just jogged beside him.

"Look, don't you have breakfast to go eat with your little friends, or other Slytherins to annoy, or anything to do besides follow me at this point in time?" he asked, his voice sounding slightly agitated. And if his voice sounded slightly agitated, then he must be very agitated, because Tom almost never showed any emotion in his voice.

"Nope," Hermione smiled extra cheerfully, "I already ate, and Dorothea and I got bread rolls and ate them on the way. So I have nothing to do but work on memorizing these names with you- why, I don't even have to go to classes, if I don't want to."

He continued to walk briskly for a while, and even though Hermione had no idea where he was going, she continued to follow anyway. They went downstairs, all the way to the dungeons, she supposed he meant to ditch her in his common room.

"Still following me?" he asked rhetorically "Fine… I'll meet you in the library in twenty minutes, at the back table right before the Restricted Section starts, and we can go over the rules and everything."

"Wait," Hermione cut in front of him, "How do I know that you really will be there and that you're not bluffing."

He ran a hand through his hair lazily and asked, "Would I lie to you?"

Hermione crossed his arms again, "Does that question really need answering?"

Tom sighed and put his hand in his robe and pulled out his wand. Instinctively Hermione backed away, and wondered just what in the world Tom thought he was doing.

"Relax, Todd, I've got better things to do than risk my prefect's badge to illegally hex a student in the hall when I can do it legally in front of people from four different schools," he smirked at her, "Catch." He tossed his wand to her and she caught carefully in the air. She was surprised he was carelessly throwing his wand around- that was definitely dangerous.

"And just why are you giving me your wand?" Hermione asked, examining it carefully.

"Collateral," he said simply, "You wanted proof that I'd come, and you wouldn't take my word for it, so I gave you my wand," he paused as if waiting for Hermione, "That's supposed to be a joke."

"Ha ha," Hermione said dryly, and patted Tom's back, and he cringed awkwardly, "We're going to have to work on your sense of humor, Riddle."

He straightened out his robes, and glared down at her, "Don't touch me mudblood, and my sense of humor is perfectly fine. And by the way, you do anything to my wand, you die."

Hermione pocketed his wand next to hers, and added sarcastically, "Wouldn't think of it. However, we're going to have to work on you and saying mudblood. We wouldn't want the people from the Ministry of Magic thinking you're a muggle-hater, especially with Grindelwald out and about nowadays."

He give her a very dirty look before turning the corner and walking away, "See you in twenty minutes."

Hermione watched him go, and then her mind went back to the wand in her pocket. The wand that would someday kill masses of people, and be used to torture, to ruin lives, to hurt. The wand that was the only brother to Harry's and the only other wand to have Fawkes's feather in its core. And suddenly her wand felt very, very heavy.

She could snap it. She could break right then and there, and then everything would change. She'd save lives; she'd save all the people who would be hurt by this weapon in the future.

But no, she couldn't. The wand itself wasn't evil; it was the user, Tom Riddle, and later Lord Voldemort, with the ill intentions. Even if she did break his wand, he could still by another. And Hermione had not taken his threat lightly, she didn't want to know what he would do if she did damage his wand. Other things, good things that would happen, could be changed too, if she damaged the wand, like the connection between this wand and Harry's. Their wands were brothers, and somehow, that hindered their ability to work against each other. That kept Harry safe.

Harry, last of the remaining trio, as Ron was dead, and she was in a different era entirely. As far as she knew, he was still alive when she left. Missing, but alive. She still had some thread of hope to cling onto. And so she could not harm this wand, if there was the chance that it would threaten Harry.

There were ways, however, to handicap the wand. Potions and enchantments not yet known to the wizarding world, as they were a breakthrough study that only began about twentry or so yearsbefore Hermione had left. They were not exactly dark magic, and they were not exactly harmless magic, either, but Hermione knew them well. She had spent some time on the study, which had been halted completely after Voldemort's first downfall, but had started up again in her seventh year.When she was not gallivanting around with Ron and Harry, she would be working with Luna, Neville, as well as many of the other Order members on it. And though most of the spells and potions required a lot of time and energy, there were one or two simpler spells she could use. And she would be careful too, to make sure that it didn't incapacitate him during the dueling tournament, otherwise that would be cheating. But there were ways to stop him from certain spells. And for now that was enough.

She slid the wand back into her pocket, aware now more than ever of what the object really was. There were only twenty minutes, less, since she had been lingering in the hall, and she had to be in the library on time. But she knew just where to go to perform the spell. Why, she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before.

After all, even ghosts like Myrtle must get lonely.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Whew, that was a lot, but that was your Halloween special chappy. Lately I've been working on the new students coming up and their little stories... I can tell you who wins every duel if you want :D. But I don't think you want that... Happy Halloween!

Also, I really don't have a lot of time now, so I didn't get to check for errors, which means there probably are a lot in there, but I want to get this out to you, soyeah, that's just a warning, but if you find any mistakes, please tell me, and I shall give you a handful of internet candy corn.

And yes, this is chapter number ten! Double-digits baby, yay! Thanks to all of you who read, especially to those of you who review, it really means a lot to me, I love getting the feedback, the criticism, the compliments, the urges to update, and of course the insults from the disgusted and angry flamers that I didn't get, it's all fun to read, and lots of love to you all!

**encantada:** Okay, I lied, not mucho Riddleness this chapter (although it's fun to say) but as you can probably figure out, there will be from now on, seeing as they are so conveniently partnered together. As to what happened between Dorothea and Odie? Well, that's a very long story, although Tom hinted to it... a lot.

**404:** Yes, yes I can be evil. Isn't it fun though?

**vla1diva**: Rawrness- I have issues with that stuffies, but its okay, I will try to update faster!

**FanFictionFantom**: Hehe, Odessa's backstory was fun to write... "one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something." Gah- I miss Dumbledore!

**tubbles14**: I hope I finish this too, because it's very rewarding to write. Yay for not boringness! Umm, 'nuff said.


	11. Paper Cuts

**Author's Note: **I'm back! Finally, sheesh what's taking so long?

**tubbles14-** Happy dance! I love to do happy dances- you get a chocolate chip cookie!

**vla1diva-** cowers sorry for my slowness in updating.

**404-** hums tune of 'Something Wicked This Way Comes That song always makes me laugh.

**Mrs Pierre Bouvier-** Thank you!

**FanFictionFantom-** Actually, Myrtle has nothing to do with the wand. Hermione just needs a place to perform the spells on the wand, that is if she has enough time, and no one else is there...

* * *

**Chapter Eleven- Paper Cuts**

Could she have thought of a more illogical idea? Hermione continued to berate herself as she sprinted through the long, winding halls of Hogwarts. How could she even hope to possibly get to Myrtle's bathroom- perform the spell correctly- and run back to the library- all under twenty minutes? She must have had a lapse of logic, and she continued to berate herself as she let her feet lead her all the way to Myrtle's bathroom.

Panting heavily, she felt for the wands in her pocket. They seemed unharmed by her mad dash, and she let out a sigh of relief. Leaning her weight on the door, she pushed it open and walked inside.

If she had been expecting it to look any different- it was quite recently a murder scene, after all- then she was terribly wrong. It looked just the same as ever albeit more old-fashioned, but so were all of the other bathrooms.

"Where is it?" she heard a girl growl impatiently. It couldn't have been Myrtle- Hermione heard footsteps, and Hermione knew for a fact that only one year ago Myrtle had died in this very lavatory. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for somewhere to hide, but the only place was the bathroom stalls, and she couldn't get to them without passing by the sinks, where the girl stood. If her heart hadn't been pounding before, it was definitely trying to burst out of her chest now.

"Who's there?" the voice demanded haughtily. The bookworm knew that voice immediately- Melina Tallow. What in the world could she be looking for by the sinks? Unless… well, that would call for a bluff from Hermione.

"A person wondering why ever in the world you would risk your pompadour mulling around in the sinks like that," Hermione forced a drawl as she kept her head lowered and crossed to the opposite side of the sinks. Admittedly, the drawl didn't come out as relaxed and practiced as she would have liked, but it didn't sound too horrible.

"You know why," she spat darkly, "Or do you not recall, Liza, when I was telling you about Tom and I?"

Hermione turned on the sink before her, pretending to be in here to wash her hands. It was a very good thing that Melina was on the opposite side of the column the sinks were around- for not only would she have seen that Hermione was really Odessa, not Liza (if that did make any sense, Hermione, however, didn't want to think about it) and she would have seen the way the girl from the future furrowed her eyebrows in suspicion.

Melina took Hermione's silence as stupidity, "Oh come on Liza! Just when I came back from my meeting with the headmaster- that horrible mudblood wench was stalking poor Tom, and as soon as he could get her away he flashes that brilliant smile of his at me and asks 'Oh Melina, would you be a dear and check the lavatory where the mudblood girl died for a broken sink? You see, I overheard a couple of no-good Gryffindors talking about how they were going to hex one of the sinks this morning. I'd check it out myself, but it wouldn't be decent, seeing as it is a girl's bathroom after all.' And I said yes, so long as he would attend the Hogsmeade trip this weekend with me- and he said yes! My brother will pleased that I'm going to be courting the leader of the most respected group in all of Slytherin- not to mention probably the most handsome boy in the whole entire school."

Hermione sputtered, unable to completely hold back her laughter. Tom obviously was quite the charmer, or at least knew about Melina's infatuation with him and used it to his advantage. The thing that amused the bookworm the most was that someone seriously had a crush on the future mass-murdering psycho. Now that was entertainment.

"You know, I was very lucky I didn't have to deal with that mudblood, Myrtle, she must be off tormenting poor Olive Hornby, Liza… Liza, you're awfully quiet today- what's wrong with you? Aren't you happy that out of all of Tom's admirers, he's chosen me? Liza?"

Hermione turned the knob of the sink off until it made a shrill squeak. Hermione heard footsteps, Melina was walking over to see her, but Hermione was prepared.

"Stupefy!" Hermione uttered loudly just as Melina rounded the corner, and the other girl fell to the ground with a thud. The wand still burnt Hermione's hand whenever she used it, but she was beginning to tolerate the pain. It felt strange, to stun someone on the scene of a murder, Hermione felt as if she had murdered someone herself, and she levitated Melina's body into one of the stalls and left her there, trying not to look too guilty as she left the bathroom.

The broken sink had not been broken by the Gryffindors, in fact it had never even worked at all, Hermione knew that, and aside from Tom, she assumed she was alone in that knowledge. His group of five followers- Nott, Avery, Lestrange, and two others she had been unable to name as of late- might have some idea, but she highly doubted it.

* * *

"Odie- where've you been?" Gabe grabbed her by the wrist firmly from behind her, twirling her around to face him.

The very nervous girl jumped in surprise, "Dippet's office, dungeons, bathrooms… I've got to go to the library, I won't be in any classes, and I'm excused from all of my classes, by the way…"

"I've got off now," the Gryffindor beater commented, adjusting his backpack as he walked with her to the library. She thought about what he was implying for a moment- the Gryffindor beater of few words and the Slytherin murderer who could manipulate a person with many? Could she think of anything that would make for a more awkward moment than trying to explain that she had to speak to the both of them? Tom would probably be quite courteous and polite about it, and Gabe probably would keep his silence, although both would be sure to reprimand her afterwards.

"Sorry, but you can't go," she said apologetically, "But can you do me a favor? For, you know, the reason I'm here," he gave her a look that told her most definitely, "Could you go down to the kitchens and talk to the house elves for me? Ask them what they know about the Room of Requirements- they call it the Come-and-Go Room. And don't trouble them too much," she warned him, "They have enough work preparing for tonight's feast as it is."

The Quidditch player opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then they both heard a shrill voice call "Oh Ga-abe!" Gabe shuddered, knowing it was the voice of Lisa Wells with her friends who called him, and knowing that he wanted to do anything but to answer her. So with a quick nod of confirmation to Hermione, he dashed down the halls, pushing aside anyone who was in his way. Hermione smiled sadly, remembering the days when things like hiding from an annoying admirer and getting the top grades in everything were her biggest worries. She sighed, why she felt so old lately. She was only an eighteen year old spirit, after all, in an even younger body- sixteen years, to be exact. There was no reason for her to be feeling old.

"Odie?" the shrill voice asked, and all of the sudden a mass of blond curls and two piercing brown were peering down at her. Hermione definitely regretted being short, "Where did my darling Gabe run off to?"

"Um… bathroom?" she shrugged. The four friends exchanged glances, deciding whether or not to believe the girl who they considered to be unworthy of friendship with Gabriel Andrews. But before they could do anything about it, Hermione took off and ran to the library.

* * *

"You're eleven minutes late," Riddle observed as he drummed long fingers on the table lazily, "Where's my wand?"

Hermione drooped onto the chair in the library, her book bag slipped off her exhausted shoulders with such a loud thump that several people turned to stare. She gave them all glares worthy of a Slytherin before turning back to the one before her.

"My wand, Todd?" he held out his hand expectantly. She sighed, and reached for the wand in her pocket, lazily rolling it across the table to him. He glared at her, picking up his wand tenderly, as if it was the most precious thing in the world to him. Hermione watched as he examined it with the utmost care, holding it delicately in his hands. It was then that Hermione noticed a ring. Hermione had seen it only once before, broken in Headmistress McGonagall's office, back in her own time.

"It's rude to stare, Todd," he glared at her, his left thumb and index finger twisting the ring around his right ring finger with frustration.

"I um, well I uh just um, well it looks very old, and um, yeah." Hermione stuttered, trying to get something understandable out of her mouth.

"Pity, an almost decent amount of magical talent wasted on a babbling mudblood idiot like you," he said sarcastically, flipping through the pages of the musty old rulebook for dueling, pulling out his copy of the list of attending dignitaries.

"Was that almost a compliment?" Hermione raised an eyebrow Riddle-style as she searched her own pockets for a copy of the rule book. She found it, but as she delved into her pockets, she could not seem to find a list of the Ministry's people.

"I thought even lowly little mudbloods could think for themselves," he muttered darkly, "And Todd- about the eyebrow raising? It's not going to help you achieve the level of my greatness, so I suggest that you stop before someone decides to curse your face frozen."

Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes as she continued to search furiously through her pockets for the list, but to no avail. She gave a very Professor Moody-like growl, abruptly got out of her seat, dragged it next to Riddle's, and moved all of her things next to him, then she sat down right next to a bewildered looking future dark lord.

"And what, pray tell, was that all about?" he asked her quite condescendingly. Hermione was tired from all that running around, frustrated that she couldn't find her list, not to mention she was still feeling quite guilty about stunning Melina Tallow and dragging her into a bathroom stall, and of course, very uncomfortable in a different body in a different era, and did not really need to have her patience tried by the future murderer of one of her best friends. She bit down on her bottom lip hard, almost surprised when it didn't bleed.

"I seem to have lost my list, and I thought that I could share yours," she said, her voice dripping with forced kindness. Students turned to stare at their table in the corner again, and she could tell by the way that he forced a sympathetic smile at her that he really didn't want to be within a ten mile radius of her.

"My offer still stands," he said casually, "I could do all of the talking, and you can smile and nod at all of the appropriate moments, and neither of us would have to be pained with each other's presence any longer."

Hermione almost considered the offer for the moment-she really could use a nap-but it was quite tactless to give up on tolerating Riddle, and then expect him to learn to tolerate her.

"Nope, I'll stay right here and learn the names and jobs like Headmaster Dippet told us to do- _together_," she stressed the last word as she tugged at a corner of the piece of parchment.

"I think not, Todd," he said, tugging back at the parchment. Hermione bit harder at her bottom lip, she could feel a warm drop of blood trickle out.

"Careful, Riddle, we wouldn't want to rip it," she muttered darkly, tugging so hard at the piece of paper that it slipped right out of Riddle's hands.

"Ouch!" he cried out in pain, cradling the finger on which he wore the ring, "You gave me a paper cut, mudblood."

As he nursed the offended finger, she put one of her own fingers against her pursed lips, wondering how in the world a person who had already murdered a student, his own father, and his grandparents, could get so worked up over a silly little paper cut.

"Let me take a look at it, it can't be that bad," she reasoned, pulling at his wrist and trying to take a look at the paper cut.

"No! You've got blood on your hand," he stated, a voice filled with disgust. She looked down to see that a drop of blood sat on her fingers, from when she had bit her lip. She sucked at her lip to stop the bleeding as she stared intently at the blood on her hands. It was Odessa's blood, not hers, but it looked like the same, ordinary red blood.

"Morning Riddle," a Hufflepuff girl chirped cheerfully, unaware of the quite chaos she had just entered into, "Could you please tell me where I might find a book on the transfiguration of mammals into amphibians? I'd ask Madame Hooke, but she's in one of her moods today and it's quite frightening."

Instantaneously Tom morphed into that charming, good, studious boy that everyone of this time period knew and adored, and he pointed with his unharmed hand, "It's no problem at all. You're quite close, actually. Next row to your right, bottom shelf, it should be between the gnome bookend and Megara Hallowell's book on transfiguring amphibians to reptilians."

Hermione was sincerely surprised. Either Riddle spent a lot of time on Transfiguration, or he knew the library excruciatingly well. Hermione was tempted to choose the latter; she didn't take Riddle for the Tranfiugation-loving type. And he was a bit of a loner. Well, well, well, it looked like Tom Riddle and Hermione Granger were more alike than either of them knew (Riddle of course, didn't even know of Hermione's existence) they were both bibliophiles.

He had to spend most of his time in the library though, as much as Hermione had in her first year before the troll incident when she had befriended Ron and Harry. Why, if she hadn't ever become friends with them she and Tom could have been even more alike. Who knows what would have become of her? The bookworm shuddered; she didn't want to think about it. All she knew was, Ron and Harry had saved her, more than any of them would ever know.

But they were alike, even if she didn't want to admit it. As the Hufflepuff thanked him and was on her way, she examined his blood. It was red and heavy, and very much ordinary. Very much like everyone else's, very much like her own. Her blood didn't look the slightest bit muddy, and his blood didn't look any purer than hers. Whatever lies they had fed him, and he had taken whole-heartedly in Slytherin, whatever books he had read about purity of blood, they were wrong.

Their blood looked the same.

"Todd, what on earth are you looking at?" Riddle questioned, breaking her out of her daze.

"Our blood- mine and yours- when you look at it, what do you see?" she asked him eagerly.

"I don't have time for your silly games, Todd," he said coldly.

"Just- just do it. Look and tell me if you see any difference" she pleaded with him. The Slytherin looked rather taken aback by her enthusiasm. He looked at his own blood, then to hers, not giving it a second thought.

"Yours is mudblood, and mine… isn't," he stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Hermione rolled her eyes with the frustration she usually took out on her bottom lip; however she had already made it bleed once today. With a strain of recklessness she usually didn't display, Hermione, took his hand, smearing the drops of blood on her own hand, mixing it with her own blood.

"Can you tell the difference now?" she asked with the same eagerness, the same desperation to make him understand that they were not all that different than he was led to believe.

"Yes."

For a moment she was tempted to look into his eyes, to see if he really believed this nonsense he was saying, but she could not, for fear that she would be vulnerable to Legimency. Sadly, she gave up, pulling at her wand and muttering a quiet 'Scourgify' to clean her bloodied hand. She noticed that when she winced from the spell he eyed the wand suspiciously, and inwardly she groaned.

"I got it from a secondhand shop, it was all that suited me," she lied, and she could not tell whether or not he believed her, "Let me take a look at your hand, it's still bleeding a bit."

Not waiting for his answer, she took his hand anyway. The cut was actually pretty bad, long and deep, extending down the front of his ring finger. "I'm going to have to apply pressure to the cut to help stop the bleeding. That way, your platelets can come in and start to patch it up," she explained, and the other boy looked bewildered, "Muggle science, but it will get the job done." And as she wrapped a small hand around his finger and clasped his finger, she felt the ring, Slytherin's ring; make an imprint on her hand.

After a moment she let go, and indeed the bleeding had stopped. "You can say thank you now."

And just for a split second, Hermione could have sworn that for once in his life, Tom Riddle looked almost vulnerable. And she wanted to reach out to him, and to be his friend and to let him know that it was okay to ask for help once in a while. She put her hand on his, trying to offer alliance, a truce.

But he pulled away.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: **Blargh- a bad ending to a bad chapter due to a bad case of writer's block. I started out wanting to start off with Tom, but then Melina and Gabe say "what about me?" and then Lisa Wells and her little clique want to be in the chapter, and I go "Aaaaaaah!" And somehow it adds up to this big 3000 word heap. Yes, there are too many voices in my head. But then, if you write you've got to be a bit eccentric, after all, you're telling stories about fictional people in fictional places, right? Bleh, I always knew I was insane.


	12. Arrivals

**Random Scribbles: **I'd like to say more, but I have the flu and don't feel like saying anything. Bleh, this is an interesting chapter though, or at least I think so. I want to pre-apologize if I messed up the historical content, I'm not in my best shape, and would be happy to correct any mistakes. Well, you know what to do, read and review. Sounds corny, but I'm going to go take a nap.

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**Chapter Twelve: Arrivals**

"…Well, most of them spoke very little or no English- but oh my goodness, you would not believe it! This one boy Daniel Prewett is originally from England. He and his dad live in Italy because his father is Quidditch coach over at Magicus. They're not very wealthy, so it was more convenient for him to go to school there, as children of teachers don't have to pay for tuition. It's very helpful that he's there, actually, because he can translate for the rest- who also seem very nice, by the way. Oh, you'll love to meet them!"

Attentively Hermione listened to Dorothea's babble as the younger girl did Hermione's hair in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory. If it had been anyone but Dorothea, Hermione would have gotten annoyed by now, but being aware of the girl's loneliness, she understood.

The students of Magicus Hall had reached Hogwarts at noon, exactly. Their entrance was not quite on par with the traditional entrances of Beauxbatons by air, and Durmstrang by sea. The students from Italy had taken the Floo Network to the school. But then that was quite understandable, seeing as their school had been destroyed. Yes, their magical town, under the muggle fascist, Benito Mussolini who was part of the Axis with Hitler, who had allied himself with dark wizard Grindelwald, had been caught in the crossfire. For not all of Italy agreed with Mussolini, Hitler, and Grindelwald, and there had been a revolt within the town walls. The school, which had been located inside this large wizarding city, had been attacked, and to maintain the secrecy of wizards had to be destroyed completely and totally. And so the eight student representatives of Magicus Hall lost their home.

Hermione stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was in her best school robes, large curls bobby pinned to her scalp, ending just below her chin made her look more mature than her usual smaller curls. Dorothea had even put make up on her and everything. Odessa Todd finally looked her age.

The round faced red head had also curled her own hair, her robes neatly pressed. Hermione thought that she had the classic forties look, just like the girls you would see in a history textbook in a muggle history class, back in her own time.

"Are you ready for the big feast?" asked Dorothea, excitedly, "Erm, I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a moment." Hermione nodded, giving a nervous smile, going over the names and occupations of the people from the Ministry in her head.

It had not taken very long for Tom and her to memorize the names and occupations after her attempt to reach out to him. Many of the people Hermione had heard of before in History of Magic class, back in her own time, and Tom already knew many of the names as well. In less than an hour, they each knew every name by heart. Tom had departed; apparently he had a meeting to go to. Hermione had no doubt that it was with Melina, and off handedly wondered if the other girl was alright. Now, the girl was far from Hermione's thoughts, who was more worried about tonight than anything.

It was then that Luci entered the dorm. The blond girl looked thoroughly surprised to see Hermione's (or, now that she thought of it, she should probably Odessa's) hair all done up, but did not say so.

"Good evening," Hermione greeted stiffly. The time traveler could not be mad at Luci. However she would expect the other girl to be mature enough to get over it and help Hermione out.

"Evening," Luci responded quietly. There was silence between them, each staring at the other, trying to figure the other girl out.

"You shouldn't befriend that McKinnon girl," Luci said quickly, "She's dark."

Now Hermione had a good reason to be mad at Luci. No one should believe everything they heard.

And Luci heard a lot.

"What makes you say that?" Hermione asked, trying to keep her curiosity out of her voice "Is it because her parents are allegedly dark?"

Luci's eyes darted around the room nervously, settling on the bathroom door before turning back to Hermione, "No," she shook her head, "That's not it, but it's important anyway. The McKinnons are mostly good- except for Dorothea's branch. It would be stupid to think that she is totally not like them. But I've… I've heard-"

The door clicked open, and Luci's mouth closed. Dorothea looked innocent as ever, and smiled at them shyly, "Um, why are we all being silent?"

"No reason," answered Hermione, getting up from her seat, "Now let's go, we're supposed to be in the Great Hall already."

And so Dorothea and Hermione exited the dorm, but not before shooting Luci one last suspicious glance.

* * *

"You look… almost presentable," Tom observed when they met up in front of the entrance of the Great Hall. Each of the schools was currently getting showed around the school by the Hogwarts duelists, and the rest of the Hogwarts students currently were filing in. The people of the Ministry should be coming soon, and Hermione was growing restless.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Riddle," she shrugged, letting his insult blow over.

A heavy woman in lavish pink robes with a bow-legged walk came stalking over. This was none other than the Minister's undersecretary, Mae Brown. Infamous for speaking for the war effort, yet at the very same time she herself wore expensive clothing and dining on expensive food while others rationed. This was their first Ministry member of the night.

"Good evening, Miss Brown," Tom said politely, "Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you'll go right through these doors-"

"Do you think I'm daft?" exclaimed the short-tempered woman, "I know exactly where I'm going; I attended Hogwarts not so long ago after all!"

Hermione, taken aback by the woman's sudden and uncalled for outburst, would have really liked to give the woman a good talking to. However, she thought better of it, seeing as she did not need to get on the bad side of a Ministry member, apologized, "Very sorry for my friend's brashness, Miss, he didn't mean to be rude to you." Tom shot a dirty look that said very well, 'Don't make me look bad' but Hermione paid no mind.

"You would do well to close your mouth, and instead of buying that make up to garnish your hopeless appearance, donate the money you foolishly spent to the war efforts," stated the big woman saccharinely. And with an annoyed 'humph,' pushed open the doors and made her way into the Great Hall.

"That woman could do with a good hex, if you ask me," Hermione muttered darkly.

"Many would agree with you. I however, find it more prudent to ignore people like Mae," said an elderly male voice from behind her. Hermione blanched and Tom smirked at her. Turning around, she saw a set of twins, 'This must be Hector Milo and John Milo, who head the Gaming Department and the coach of England's National Dueling Club, respectively,' she thought to herself. They both stood, tall and proud even through their old age, eyes glittering down at her with amusement.

"No worries," one waved a hand at her, "We know how to keep a secret."

Hermione gulped, nodding her thanks, "Erm, um… thank you. Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchfcraft and Wizardry," it was only the first time she had said this, but already she reminded herself of a monotonous robot, "Mr. Milo and Mr. Milo. If you'll go right through these doors, you can be seated up by the staff table."

"Hey Hector, do you hear that? We get to sit at the staff table! Remember when we jinxed the table so that it would tap dance whenever anyone would-"

"And we're leaving," Hector cut his brother off, "Otherwise he'll bore the both of you two death, and we can't have anything bad happening to our Hogwarts representatives… good luck, to both of you."

More and more officials came in, some with their spouses, most alone. It seemed that Headmaster Dippet's words had proven true, and this was a popular event, what with all the bad news people usually had to hear about. Several reporters seemed to have moseyed their way into the castle as well.

"And what were your names again?" a stout and balding man with a large blue quill and notepad asked for about the fifth time.

"I'm Odessa Todd, from Gryffindor House, sixth year, and this is Tom Riddle, from Slytherin House, and he is a sixth year as well," Hermione repeated, not caring to hide the agitation in his voice.

The man nodded, stroking a goatee that would put even Karkaroff to shame. He jotted down who knows what onto his notepad. With pudgy little fingers he snapped for someone behind him. Out came a young, pimply man, fumbling with a camera in his hands. Colin Creevey would have looked more professional.

"Would the two of you mind taking a picture for the Prophet?" the man asked, although seemingly indifferent as to whether he had their consent or not. Hermione would have rather not, having bad past (or more accurately, future) experiences with the Daily Prophet, however Tom showed no signs of arguing, and so she said nothing.

"Right then mates, get in nice and close together, an' try an' look 'appy," commanded the novice photographer.

Well, talk about being awkward. Hermione stepped over towards Tom until she was standing quite uncomfortably beside him.

"Aw, common mate," chided the photographer, "She may be small- but she ain't ugly! Put an arm around her, why don't you?"

Hermione simply wanted to die right at that moment, or just be anywhere but there. As she put on a fake smile and Tom put an arm around her rigid body, she began to feel very dizzy, and she saw a bright light…

"Thanks mates," the acne-troubled photographer said as he put his camera down. Hermione blinked several times. How she hated cameras. She jumped away from Tom; this entire thing was getting very awkward. She really needed to sit down right about now.

A little pigtailed first year stumbled clumsily out of the Great Hall. Blushing she smiled sheepishly up at the two upperclassmen and the reporters. "Headmaster Dippet wanted me to tell you that he would like everybody to come inside the Great Hall right now, please."

The reporter patted the pigtailed girl's head, and she winced. Hermione smiled helpfully, understanding how the younger student felt.

Hogwarts was decked out in Hogwarts, Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and Magicus banners. The Staff table looked quite a deal more crowded than usual, although it had obviously been magically lengthened.

Blood red uniforms dotted the Slytherin table, pale blue ones dotted Ravenclaw, although two could be found at Gryffindor table, and royal purple uniforms (no doubt, Hermione thought, inspired by the robes of the ancient Romans) could be found dispersed throughout all four tables, although most were at Gryffindor table. She took her place next to Gabe, who was sitting with a wary looking Fritz and Luci. They were not alone; in fact, they were accompanied by Fritz's parents and his older siblings. Judging by the way his parents smiled at her, she supposed they knew Odessa, and she smiled back. Hermione noted Odessa's family was no where to be found, but then, she shouldn't have expect that much from them.

"May I have everybody's attention?" Dippet stood up from the Staff Table, and everyone began to quiet down, "On behalf of all of the students and faculty of Hogwarts, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the Ministry, our duelists' families, and all our friends from around Europe. We are about to embark on an unprecedented tournament, an international dueling tournament between some of the top duelists from some of the top duelists in the world."

"He's really going for a record rambling session this time, isn't he?" Fritz's eldest brother whispered very loudly. He had the same colorings as his younger brother, although he was bulkier, and wore glasses.

"Peter, shush, you're being rude!" Mrs. Potter reprimanded as she slapped her son's wrist. Ironically, she looked even more bored than many of the students, several who looked as if they were about to doze off.

"…And at this time we should remember every single one of the magical and muggle lives who have died for us to protect us as well as to protect all the people of the world, and their freedom to go where they choose, to be what they choose, to speak how they choose, and to think how they choose, without fear of persecution. In this time of darkness I call upon each of every one of you to forget old differences, and to look for common bonds. For, if we all are to unite against Grindelwald and Hitler, then we will surely triumph over them and their evils. Stand proud, stand strong, and work your hardest, and work together, and we will be unstoppable. Let our thirty-two student duelists shine like beacons of a bright and prosperous future. May they rise above the mistakes of their parents, and their grandparents, to restore peace to not only Europe, but all over the world. For as I look down upon the students below, I see aurors, and teachers, and healers and…"

"And hungry children who would rather you shut up so they can eat in peace," snorted Peter. He was rewarded with chuckles among all of Gryffindor table, even his mother (although she would like to pretend otherwise). She and Hermione tried to listen diligently, but it was difficult, seeing as Dippet was very uncharismatic and hard to focus on. So Hermione contented herself on staring up upon the ceiling, up to the stars.

Had she been paying more attention, she would have seen several pairs of eyes resting on her.

Finally, Dippet ended his rambling rampage and went silent. Food appeared, and everyone ate heartily, but none more so than Fritz's two older brothers. Not for a moment did they stop eating, and they piled food upon their plates continuously.

"Slow down you two! Leave some food for the people who actually still go to school here!" Fritz whined as his brother, Caleb, took the last of some strange foreign dish that was proving itself to be quite delectable. It took only a second for the plate to replenish itself, but Fritz was annoyed nevertheless.

"Andrew, Andrew, Andrew, this is a rhetorical question, but you only have to put up with Mum's cooking for a mere two months of the twelve month year, do you realize how good you have it?" He was very lucky that his mother was in a deep conversation with her husband and Peter.

"Maybe if a certain twenty-one year old and his twenty-three year old brother got their own apartment, they wouldn't have to rely on Mum for food," Fritz grinned the way only a youngest sibling who was being quite annoying and loving it can.

"Hey! Petey and I are very busy with the Ministry as aurors! We don't have time for silly things like getting our own apartments!"

"Gabriel dear, how is my cousin doing?" asked Mrs. Potter politely as she reached for a cannoli. Hermione was definitely interested; she had not known Fritz and Gabe were related. But then it was quite a coincidence that of two friends, one's surname would be the same as the other's first (subtract the 's' of course).

"Father? Oh he's good," said Gabe quietly, "Very busy helping Dumbledore to sort out that Grindelwald business."

Mrs. Potter nodded sympathetically, "Your father is a very good man. Dumbledore's very lucky to have him under his service."

Gabe nodded, but Hermione noticed that Gabe was even quieter than usual for the rest of the meal.

"May I please have everyone's attention once more?" Dippet stood again, and Hermione could here a chorus of stifled groans, "All that food was quite delectable, but for now we must rest. The dueling competition is to begin this Friday, so let me explain the rules for those of you who may not know, and those of you who need reminding. Our thirty-two competitors will be divided into four pools of eight, two duelists from each school. Every student must duel everyone else in their division, and the top four duelists from each pool are to go on to the next round, while the others will be eliminated. There are to be no seconds in this round. Each duelist will be called to perform once on Friday night and once on Saturday. Good luck to all competitors, and good night to all."

Wishing good luck to both Fritz and Hermione, the Potters filed out one way, and Fritz, Gabe, Luci and Hermione went the other. It seemed that the Potter family knew nothing of the fight between Hermione and Fritz, because he was putting up this charade as if nothing was wrong.

Luci and Fritz went straight into the common room, but Gabe held Hermione back. Exchanging a glance with Luci, Gabe took Hermione gently by the wrist, leading her away from the prying eyes and ears of the other students.

"The house elves know," Gabe whispered cryptically to Hermione as they trekked up to Gryffindor tower. Hermione nodded, appreciatively. "They want to speak with you sometime, or at least some of them do. Most don't want to get involved in human affairs."

"Thank you," Hermione said quietly. She watched as Gabe paced around in nervous circles.

"I… well Luci rather, want to warn you about Riddle," said Gabe carefully. Hermione eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing. "You should talk to Luci, I know she wants to help, she's just… stubborn. But there's something you ought to know about Riddle. Luci says the other night she heard him… she heard him saying something with his followers." His voice trailed off nervously, it was obvious he was worried.

"What did he say?" Hermione asked tentatively, not sure if she really wanted to know.

"They were talking about making a deal, a deal that would improve anyone's status, a deal no one could refuse."


	13. Odette Thompson and Tadd Rydelle

**Jessi's Note: **Ah, the dreaded chapter thirteen... wow, where did all of you people come from? Not that I mind, but wow, I've never gotten that many reviews to a chapter before. And it took me about a bazillion years to update... sorry about that, lots of weird stuff going on in this chapter, but that's all I'm going to say for now. Anyway, happy holidays, and happy New Year. Here's your new chapter, so keep those reviews coming!

**

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Chapter Thirteen: The Odette Thompson and Tadd Rydelle Affair **

The next two days were probably the strangest in the life of Odessa Todd, more so, because she was being inhabited by a stranger all the while. Why, being inhabited by a stranger is just plain odd in itself, but for Odessa Todd, it got worse.

Something fell on her head with a small thud. It was not hard, but it was heavy and Hermione groaned. It felt as if she had just gotten to sleep- she had been restless all night, thinking of Tom, and Luci, and the proposition- whatever that was about, and of course the duel. She hadn't really thought about it for awhile, but then she could hardly be blamed for it- Hermione had a crusade to save a boy's soul to think about, and trying to find away to get home once her mission was completed. Nevertheless she was nervous, she supposed she should make amends with Fritz and actually study for the duel, her excuse for going to the library when she was studying possession.

"I'd get up if I were you," a voice said tentatively, "And you'll want to read that."

Hermione yawned, eyes fluttering open. The thing that had made a soft thud on her head was none other than a newspaper, and the person who was speaking was none other than a worried looking Luci, sitting nervously at the edge of her bed.

Hermione picked up the newspaper. The cover story was about yet another death in the muggle and wizarding war, and witches and wizards could be seen morning their losses. It felt strange to look at a newspaper about a war that in her own time was already over.

"Not the front page," Luci corrected, "You'll want to go to the sport and entertainment section, it's the first story. You've slept late, and I didn't want to wake you- everyone in the whole school is making a big fuss about it, I didn't think you'd want to deal with it, what with, well, everything going on. Why I didn't even get to finish my cereal, I just grabbed you something to eat off of my plate and left to see you…"

Hurriedly Hermione flipped through the newspaper and there she saw it. There was an article that took up half the page, a list of all the interscholastic duel participants took another quarter and the rest of the page was devoted to the picture of Tom and she, in that awful picture the young photographer took of them.

Except it didn't say anything about Odessa Todd or Tom Riddle.

However it did mention an Odette Thompson and Tadd Rydelle.

And it did talk about their "secret love although they would soon be forced against their wills to duel against each other."

In fact, the half page article was entirely devoted to it.

Hermione's eyes widened and she dropped the newspaper onto her lap as if it burnt her fingers to touch it. The whole school was going to think they were a couple now- they weren't that stupid, they wouldn't be fooled by the demented names.

"Let's try to work this in your favor," Luci said weakly. Hermione looked up at the other girl suspiciously- just what was she playing at.

"A really long time ago- before you told me and the boys about, um, who you were and all, you asked me to find out more about Tom Riddle- which I did, even though I thought it was odd. But then, when you told us about the um, the truth, I figured maybe he had something to do with why you were here and thought that maybe it had to do with your mission. And the sooner you're done with your mission, the sooner I get my best friend back," the blond rambled nervously.

Quickly Hermione tried to process what Luci was saying in her head. How could that newspaper article possibly show Tom that there was no difference in blood, and not to become evil? Of course, Luci didn't know that that was Hermione's goal. However, as a gossip she knew full well that the article would put them in an awkward position, and…

"I also had another idea," she added quickly, unnerved by Hermione's unblinking stare, "Maybe… I thought you could invite him to the Winter Social."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "The winter what?"

For a moment Luci looked confused, "Oh yes, you weren't there when they announced it! In honor of our guests, Hogwarts is going to hold a dance! You can ask Riddle to go with you and question him there. We might even be able to replace his punch with Verituserum, if we plan it out well enough…"

"Luci! That's a dirty trick," exclaimed Hermione, "We are not sinking that low to get information out of him! There must be another way to do this."

Luci sighed, fishing for something in her book bag, "Whatever you say, I suppose, but you've got to do what you must if you want to get things done. I just want this whole ordeal to be done with as soon as possible. The things I've heard… why it's not any worse than anything Riddle and his little group have done. I've heard from a good source that the Slytherins don't like or respect him so much as they fear him. Never told me what they did exactly, I reckon they're pressured not to tell anyone about it."

Hermione listened as she got out of bed, changing into her school robes. It did not surprise her that Tom had already established a group that insinuated fear amongst the Slytherins, he was a future dark lord after all. He had set a basilisk on the school- although never killing another student intentionally- and was on his way to creating a horcrux out of his old diary- one of the evilest things known to witches and wizards everywhere. Who knew what else he had done, things that no one had yet unearthed. And all the while he maintained a charming image of a respectable, bright young student that no teacher would ever doubt- save Dumbledore. The amount of effort, and duplicity that went in to maintaining such an image while at the same time continuing to do evil things scared Hermione.

"Who told you this?" asked Hermione asked as Luci tossed her a muffin. Suddenly the blond became rigid and tense; her yellow curls even stopped bouncing.

"I don't reveal my sources," she said firmly, "I value the trust these people must have in me that allows them to confide in me."

Hermione gave out a short laugh, "But Luci, you're a gossip."

"All the more reason to value their trust," she said darkly. Hermione said nothing as the two of them entered the Gryffindor common room. As she bit into the muffin she thought it tasted a bit off, but dismissed it immediately. The house elves needed a break now and then; people shouldn't criticize them so often.

Luci looked at her watch, "There's no point of going to Defense Against the Dark Arts now. Merrythought will take off more points if we get there late than if we don't show up at all- it doesn't really make sense, but anyway, we have about half an hour to do whatever we want."

Finishing off the last of the muffin, she followed Luci out of the common room, past the Fat Lady. A few purple-robed Magicus students wandered the halls curiously, talking to some of their paintings as they went on their way.

"I was thinking of going to the kitchens to see the house elves, actually…" Hermione's voice trailed off as she noticed that Luci was not paying any attention to her at all.

"Danny?"

A blond boy in purple robes turned when Luci called his name. His eyes widened in both surprise and recognition, "Lucinda, is that you?"

A smile flashed upon Luci's face as she ran up to embrace the boy, leaving a very confused looking Hermione to stand awkwardly alone.

"Odie, I'd like to introduce you to my cousin- well, distant cousin is more like it- Daniel Prewett. Danny, this is Odessa Todd, but we all call her Odie," Hermione nodded her head at Danny, and Luci continued; "I haven't seen him since we were little, before the war started. Why didn't you come to see me sooner?" she questioned him.

The blond boy shrugged, "We got here, Filius and Dorothea showed us around, we ate, we went to sleep, we ate, and now we're exploring… not so much time to go find a long lost cousin."

"Wait- Dorothea, as in Dorothea McKinnon?" Luci questioned, "They let _her_ show you around?"

Dan cocked his head to the side, and asked the question that Hermione herself had been wondering for quite some time, "Dorothea seemed to be pretty nice. What do you have against her?"

"Ey- is not that ze girl who was in ze paper?" a brunette girl in Magicus robes pointed an accusing finger at her, causing Hermione to blush profusely, "With zat handsome boy?" Another one of her friends said something in Italian and they giggled, waving at Danny as they walked on by.

"And we are now getting away from the public eye- and going down to the kitchens to talk to some house elves," Hermione hurried the two cousins down the hall. As they walked passersby would sometimes point and stare, and more than ever Hermione thought she had a good taste of what it was like to be in Harry's position.

"Pardon me, but I think I might have missed something…why are we going to the kitchens?" Danny questioned as the three of them went down a staircase. Hermione groaned as it began to change, why must things always be so complicated?

"I um, I didn't get a chance to eat, and I was hungry, so we are going to go the kitchens- isn't that right, Odie?" said Luci, not missing a beat, nodding convincingly.

"Yes, you're absolutely right, Luci," said a side tracked Hermione. Luci tapped her shoulder, her mouth moving but no words coming out as she pointed a limp finger at the floor their staircase was changing to.

Was that, why could that be, no… Dorothea talking with Nott, Jugson, and Abraxas Malfoy?

_Hermione found herself in a familiar yet unwelcoming scene. She was in the Gryffindor common room, empty, save all but herself and the true __Odessa__ Todd. _

_"Um is it just me- or did I tell you not to do this again so that our souls don't mix too much so that nobody goes insane?" growled Odie. Hermione glared down at the younger girl with contempt as the fire roared on. _

_"If I recall I did not specifically ask for this to happen again. I don't like you as much as you don't like me," Hermione folded her arms across her chest. _

_The younger girl fell back on one of the big red armchairs and gave a groan, "Oh well, we'll make the best of this then, I suppose. Look, my favorite color is yellow, I refuse to be seen in pink or purple or one of those baby colors that all of those girly-girls always wear in those magazines. Also, for the dueling tournament you'll find a very helpful book should be somewhere under my bed..." _

_Hermione tripped over the rug, and rubbing her knee, she asked in a pained voice, "What are you talking about?" _

_Odessa gave a short laugh, "The social- Luci told you about it, remember? I have to look especially swell- after that disgrace in the newspaper- me with that Slytherin! I can't believe people actually believe that. At least they didn't get my name right- it would look horrible on my reputation, and my resume, for that matter, if I ever want to be an auror…" _

_Hermione nodded, brushing dust off of her skirt, "Alright, yellow dress, book under your bed, keep a good reputation so you can become an auror… anything else I might need to know?" _

_She had meant it to be sarcastic, but __Odessa__ continued on anyway, "Trust Luci, she wants to help me, which means she needs to help you, which means she has to be telling the truth. Sure she's a gossip, but she's a good person too… don't laugh I mean it. Anyway, better to trust her than to trust Dorothea. She's been acting kind of off ever since you came around- not that I ever liked her anyway. And if that red head's been hanging out with slime like Malfoy…" _

"Morning sleepyhead," said the smiling healer, running a hand through his red hair, "Or good evening, would be more accurate. My my Miss Todd, you sure do have a habit of ending up in my infirmary, twice in the past three months- and neither very minor cases, mind you. I'd have called in Dumbledore again, however, he is out on personal business, and probably won't be back for the first round of dueling. Lucky one he is, it's going to be a mess in here, I tell you, what with a bunch of hooligans being allowed to hex at each other as much as they like… hey, wait a minute, aren't you participating in that?"

Hermione sat up in her bed nodding slowly. To her right, Luci lay in her own bed, resting in a deep slumber. She raised her eyebrows- what was going on?

"Miss Todd, I may regret asking this, but does Luci have any enemies?" asked the healer.

Hermione bit her lip, "What do you mean, enemies, Mr… Mr… I'm sorry what was your name?"

The red headed healer grinned, "My last name's horrible, nobody can pronounce it- call me Adam, everyone does. And don't forget, seeing as the rate you're going, you'll be here quite a bit. But back on topic- does Miss Prewett have any enemies who would, say… try to trick her into drinking a rather poorly brewed Draught of Living Death?"

"What?" exclaimed Hermione, trying to get out of bed, and she would have to, but she found she was too exhausted.

"Relax, Miss Todd, whoever brewed it obviously either administered an extremely diluted dose or mixed the potion with some sort of grain products, or both. Either way, Miss Prewett will be out for about three months, no more, which is much shorter than a lifetime. You must of gotten a much smaller dose of it, you've been out for about thirteen hours. A boy from Magicus was in here for a while, as were Mr. Potter and Mr. Andrews. But once again I must ask you, I must inquire as to who you think the perpetrators might be."

Hermione thought about it, and she knew right away who it could be. Someone had found out what she knew about Tom or Dorothea, and whatever it was, it was important. Important enough for someone to take drastic measures for revenge. But no one would believe that charming Tom and his crew of Slytherins could do such a thing, aside from Dumbledore who wasn't even at the school.

"She tends to gossip a lot," Hermione shrugged, "But she never reveals who she talks to. I'm sorry I can't be anymore help, but that's all I know."

"I see," Adam said, heaving a sigh, "Well, I'll have to report this to Headmaster Dippet so that he can inform Miss Prewett's parents, and I'm going to warn you, I would not be surprised if she gets shipped off to St. Mungo's. However, with the current situation," Hermione knew he meant the war, "Anyway, things are different nowadays. And as for you, I'm keeping you here for overnight observation, so I suggest you get comfortable."

Hermione sat back in her hospital bed as the healer left the room. It must have been the middle of the night, but the girl from the future felt as if she had only been out for a moment. But what could have given her the Draught of Living Death? All she had had that day was the…

Muffin from Luci's plate.

And Luci had had the cereal. She knew that muffin had tasted off! And Luci, poor Luci would remain asleep for the rest of the year, until about the end of January. But the worst part of all was the guilt, the fact that Luci probably got in all of this trouble because of her. This was all her fault. If anything she was lucky that whoever it was diluted the potion with water and was stupid enough to put it into Luci's grainy breakfast. Hermione chewed at her lip tentatively fighting back the hot tears that tried to force their way from their eyes.

She heard footsteps- but the door didn't open. The room was in darkness, save the little moonlight that managed its way to get through the curtains. Hermione felt the hairs on her neck stand on end as she stared wildly around the room for the cause of the footsteps, fingering for the wand on the nightstand.

Someone else's hand was there, too.

"Boo," they said, in a bored tone. Hermione glared at the voice, snatching her wand away before the person could do anything about it.

"Go away, Tom, you've done enough damage here already," Hermione attempted to sound forceful, but only managed to sound weak in her shaky voice.

"What are you going to do about it?" he gave a short, cold chuckle, one that sent shivers down Hermione's spine, "Sleep me to death?"

A fire of fury burnt in her heart, spreading all over her body, and she felt like she could explode, "Why don't you turn on a light, Riddle you coward, and show me your face. I know you did this to me and Luci."

He muttered a lighting spell, so that his wand-tipped glowed so that the brunette girl could see his face, "You can't do anything about it. Dumbledore's gone and nobody else would believe you, even if you did have the proof."

Hermione sat up in her bed, still keeping her wand close, "What are you playing at, Riddle?"

He sat at the side of her bed, so that Hermione could see his dark eyes glittering mischieviously. She could feel his breath, and surprisingly it was warm (she thought a cold-blooded person like him would have an icy breath).

"Come out, I know you're there," he turned his head sharply. Out of nowhere a girl with red hair appeared, folding what looked like Gabe's invisibility cloak. Tears streamed silenty down her face, and Hermione felt very betrayed and even more confused. "Come on McKinnon, let Todd see the coward's face."

"Hey Todd," Tom said, turning to Hermione, "I have a proposition for you."


End file.
